Sunday, March 24
Winston-Salem, N.C.
4 p.m.
Wake Forest University
21-14,11-9ACC
66
vs
72
Georgia
19-16,6-12SEC
1
2
F
Georgia
39
33
72
Wake Forest
24
42
66
Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Deacs Comeback Effort Falls Short in NIT Second Round
3/24/2024 7:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
In the defeat to Georgia, senior forward Andrew Carr finished with a career-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds, becoming the second player in the Steve Forbes era to have a 30-point, 10-rebound game.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Facing a 19-point deficit in the second half, the Wake Forest men's basketball team nearly came all the way back, battling to get the margin down to four points before eventually falling 72-66 against Georgia in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Sunday afternoon inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
This marked Wake Forest's (21-14, 11-9 ACC) eighth all-time appearance in the National Invitation Tournament and second in the past three seasons.
The Demon Deacons saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 164,931 fans packing LJVM Coliseum. This marked the highest total attendance since the 2014-15 season when Wake Forest hosted 174,336 fans during the 2014-15 season.
Over the last three seasons, Wake Forest has an impressive 48-7 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including a 17-2 mark this season, the best since having the most home wins in program history during the 2021-22 season when Wake Forest finished with a mark of 18-2.
The Demon Deacons' overall wins since the start of the 2021-22 season rank second in the country and leads the ACC during that time frame:
Rank Team Home Wins
1 Houston 49
2 Wake Forest 48
In the defeat to the Bulldogs (19-16, 6-12 SEC), senior forward Andrew Carr finished with a career-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds, becoming the second player in the Steve Forbes era to have a 30-point, 10-rebound game. The other being Jake LaRavia on Jan. 22, 2022 against North Carolina.
Sunday featured Carr's fifth season performance of 20 or more points and his first since his 28-point game at NC State on Jan. 16. It also marked his seventh double-digit rebound performance of the season.
With his first basket at the 13:12 mark in the first half, Kevin Miller became the 59th player in Wake Forest history to join the 1,000-point club. The sophomore guard finished with 14 points and three steals.
He was the third Wake Forest player to reach 1,000-career points this season, joining Andrew Carr and Cameron Hildreth.
Hildreth, who made his 100th-career appearance for the Demon Deacons, finished the contest with 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. It marked his 10-consecutive game with double-digit points and 28th time overall this season.
How It Happened
Stats of the Game
Coach's Comments
"We came out with some good defensive intensity to start the game. It was 9-8, we had a couple of kills. Then we lost our intensity guarding the basketball. Georgia made a bunch of threes in the first half, six of those were dribble threes. Those are hard shots to make. Thomasson and Hill made some really big plays.
We weren't affecting the ball very well. On top of that, we didn't score. We had some stops early where we had a chance to come down and score. We were shooting a lot of threes and not making them. We went 3-for-22 in our arena, I don't know if we have ever done that. We can slice and dice the game all we want but when you look at the discrepancy of threes, that's the game.
In the second half, we played a lot harder. I challenged them at halftime. I was really upset. We finally started getting stops. There was a 10-minute stretch where they only made one field goal. Unfortunately, at that point we fouled on three-straight possessions. They made 13-straight free throws in the second half, so we bailed them out. They were applying pressure driving the ball, but we can't foul in those situations. On top of that, they made four more threes. If you look at the score, you have to say those threes come back to haunt you and the fact that they made 13 free throws in the second half.
Hill and Thomasson were outstanding. James was 4-of-15 coming into the game and he drained four. This is what happens, when you start making shots the basket looks a lot bigger. It didn't look too big for him earlier. They were turning it over and looked a little discombobulated. Then Georgia got going and we let them go. The crowd was phenomenal and I credit them for trying to will us to win. They were standing on their feet wanting us to go and we were trying. We just couldn't get over the hump. Credit to Georgia for coming in here and getting a win which is hard to do. That was our first non-conference loss since I've been the head coach here.
We shot 29 percent in the first half which is not good. I want to give credit to Andrew who had a great game with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He didn't have his A-game. I know that sounds crazy but he was struggling out there. He is a little beat up. Aaron Clark played really well defensively for us in the second half. He got us going defensively which was great." - head coach Steve Forbes
Season Highlights
Consistent Winners
This marked Wake Forest's (21-14, 11-9 ACC) eighth all-time appearance in the National Invitation Tournament and second in the past three seasons.
The Demon Deacons saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 164,931 fans packing LJVM Coliseum. This marked the highest total attendance since the 2014-15 season when Wake Forest hosted 174,336 fans during the 2014-15 season.
Over the last three seasons, Wake Forest has an impressive 48-7 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including a 17-2 mark this season, the best since having the most home wins in program history during the 2021-22 season when Wake Forest finished with a mark of 18-2.
The Demon Deacons' overall wins since the start of the 2021-22 season rank second in the country and leads the ACC during that time frame:
Rank Team Home Wins
1 Houston 49
2 Wake Forest 48
In the defeat to the Bulldogs (19-16, 6-12 SEC), senior forward Andrew Carr finished with a career-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds, becoming the second player in the Steve Forbes era to have a 30-point, 10-rebound game. The other being Jake LaRavia on Jan. 22, 2022 against North Carolina.
Sunday featured Carr's fifth season performance of 20 or more points and his first since his 28-point game at NC State on Jan. 16. It also marked his seventh double-digit rebound performance of the season.
With his first basket at the 13:12 mark in the first half, Kevin Miller became the 59th player in Wake Forest history to join the 1,000-point club. The sophomore guard finished with 14 points and three steals.
He was the third Wake Forest player to reach 1,000-career points this season, joining Andrew Carr and Cameron Hildreth.
Hildreth, who made his 100th-career appearance for the Demon Deacons, finished the contest with 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. It marked his 10-consecutive game with double-digit points and 28th time overall this season.
How It Happened
- Carr got into the paint for the first Wake Forest points and the 2-0 lead.
- Two possessions later, Carr hit a left-corner three-pointer for the 5-3 lead.
- Hildreth got a quick bucket off a long-distance pass from Miller to keep the Deacs in front.
- A turnaround jumper from Miller ended a scoring drought for Wake and extended the lead, 9-6.
- The Wake Forest defense held Georgia scoreless for over five minutes and caused six straight turnovers.
- Miller hit a three from the top of the key to get the Deacs back within two, 14-12, after a short Georgia run.
- Canka got his first bucket of the game off his own second-chance putback to tie it at 14.
- A Georgia turnover led to a layup from Miller and Wake was within six, 22-16.
- Reid ended a Georgia run with a putback off a Hildreth jumper and cut it to 30-18.
- Out of the timeout, Carr hit two free throws to make it 30-20 with three minutes to go in the first half.
- A turnaround jumper on the baseline from Miller got it back to 14 after another short run by Georgia, 36-22.
- Carr hit a jumper to end the half and the Deacs went into the locker room down, 39-24.
- Miller and Carr led the Deacs with nine points each in the first half.
- Reid and Carr had a game-high five rebounds a piece in the first 20 minutes.
- Miller got in the lane for a bucket to start the second half scoring for Wake.
- On the next possession, Carr had a backdown bucket to make it 44-28.
- Carr then hit another one on the next trip down.
- On the next possession, Carr had a backdown bucket to make it 44-28.
- Out of the timeout, Carr netted a free throw to make it 49-31.
- Two more free throws from Carr cut it to 49-33.
- Reid got a putback off a Miller jumper two possessions later.
- On the next possession, Miller converted the and-one to cut it to 49-38.
- The Deacon defense held Georgia scoreless for over three minutes.
- Reid got a bucket off a pass from Hildreth to make it 51-40 with 12:10 left to play.
- After two defensive stops in a row, Reid hit a free throw to make it 51-41.
- A fourth consecutive defensive stop led to a baseline jumper by Hildreth to get the Deacs inside 10, 51-43, with 10:03 to play.
- Reid found Carr in the paint on the next possession to keep it at an eight-point game, 53-45.
- A corner three from Carr put the Deacs within seven, 55-48.
- A baseline layup from Hildreth kept the Deacs within seven, 57-50.
- Carr hit a backdown hook shot in the lane to get Wake within five, 52-57, with 6:35 to play.
- The Wake Forest defense held Georgia without a field goal for nearly seven minutes of play.
- Another one from Carr kept the Deacs within seven, 61-54.
- Ahead of the timeout, Georgia stretched it back to 10, 64-54.
- Out of the timeout, Hildreth got the Deacs back within eight with a driving layup, 64-56, with 3:12 left on the clock.
- After a four-point play from Georgia, Carr hit two free throws to have Wake trailing by 10, 68-58.
- On the next possession, Carr hit a turnaround jumper and Wake was back within eight, 68-60, with 1:59 left to play.
- Two free throws from Hildreth made it 68-62 with less than 90 seconds to play.
- Two more free throws from Hildreth made it a four-point game, 68-64, with 45 seconds to play.
- A slam from Carr ahead of a timeout kept it a five-point game, 66-71, with 14.7 remaining.
- Wake Forest fell to Georgia, 72-66.
Stats of the Game
- Andrew Carr finished with a career-high 31 points in addition to 11 rebounds and a steal. It was just the second 30-point double-double by a Wake Forest player in the Forbes era, with the other being Jake LaRavia on Jan. 22, 2022 against North Carolina.
- It was his fifth 20-point performance of the season and his first since his 28-point game at NC State on Jan. 16.
- It marked his seventh double-digit rebound performance of the season.
- This season, he reached the 100-career blocks, 500-career rebounds and 1,000-career points milestones.
- Carr entered the contest ranking fourth in the ACC in blocks per game (1.49) and 13th in rebounds per game (6.8).
- With his first basket at the 13:12 mark in the first half, Kevin Miller became the 59th player in Wake Forest history to join the 1,000-point club. The sophomore guard finished with 14 points and three steals.
- He was the third Wake Forest player to reach 1,000-career points this season, joining Andrew Carr and Cameron Hildreth.
- This season, Miller is shooting 84.5 percent from the charity stripe. He entered the contest ranked sixth in the ACC.
- He finished 1-of-1 from the line against the Bulldogs.
- Miller also entered the contest ranked 12th in the conference in points per game (15.6) and 11th in assists per game (3.5).
- Cameron Hildreth, who made his 100th-career appearance for the Demon Deacons, finished the contest with 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals.
- Last game against App State, he became the 58th player in program history to reach 1,000-career points.
- It marked his 10-consecutive game with double-digit points and 28th time overall this season.
- He played 35 minutes against Georgia and now averages 34.1 minutes per game this campaign, which ranks fourth in the conference.
- We went 4-of-4 from the free throw line Sunday afternoon. He entered the contest ranked 13th in the conference in free throw percentage (80.4 percent).
Coach's Comments
"We came out with some good defensive intensity to start the game. It was 9-8, we had a couple of kills. Then we lost our intensity guarding the basketball. Georgia made a bunch of threes in the first half, six of those were dribble threes. Those are hard shots to make. Thomasson and Hill made some really big plays.
We weren't affecting the ball very well. On top of that, we didn't score. We had some stops early where we had a chance to come down and score. We were shooting a lot of threes and not making them. We went 3-for-22 in our arena, I don't know if we have ever done that. We can slice and dice the game all we want but when you look at the discrepancy of threes, that's the game.
In the second half, we played a lot harder. I challenged them at halftime. I was really upset. We finally started getting stops. There was a 10-minute stretch where they only made one field goal. Unfortunately, at that point we fouled on three-straight possessions. They made 13-straight free throws in the second half, so we bailed them out. They were applying pressure driving the ball, but we can't foul in those situations. On top of that, they made four more threes. If you look at the score, you have to say those threes come back to haunt you and the fact that they made 13 free throws in the second half.
Hill and Thomasson were outstanding. James was 4-of-15 coming into the game and he drained four. This is what happens, when you start making shots the basket looks a lot bigger. It didn't look too big for him earlier. They were turning it over and looked a little discombobulated. Then Georgia got going and we let them go. The crowd was phenomenal and I credit them for trying to will us to win. They were standing on their feet wanting us to go and we were trying. We just couldn't get over the hump. Credit to Georgia for coming in here and getting a win which is hard to do. That was our first non-conference loss since I've been the head coach here.
We shot 29 percent in the first half which is not good. I want to give credit to Andrew who had a great game with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He didn't have his A-game. I know that sounds crazy but he was struggling out there. He is a little beat up. Aaron Clark played really well defensively for us in the second half. He got us going defensively which was great." - head coach Steve Forbes
Season Highlights
Consistent Winners
- For the first time since 1995-97, Wake Forest has finished with 10 or more ACC wins in three consecutive seasons.
- Additionally, the 34 ACC wins during that three-year period marked the most since the 2003-05 run and when the Demon Deacons had 35 ACC wins.
- Additionally with the win against Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament, Wake Forest reached the 20-win mark for the second time in the last three years.
- The 65 wins over the last three seasons mark the most wins in a three-year stretch since the 2002-03 to 2004-05 run.
- The Demon Deacons defeated five teams that reached the NCAA Tournament including at least one Sweet 16 team at the conclusion of Wake Forest's season.
- This was Wake Forest's 57th appearance in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals since its inception in 1954.
- It marked the first time since 2007 that Wake Forest made consecutive appearances in the quarterfinals.
- This is also the 32nd time in program history that the Demon Deacons have advanced in the ACC Tournament.
- The victory on Wednesday against No. 12 seed Notre Dame marked the 46th ACC Tournament win all-time in program history.
- Junior Hunter Sallis was named Associated Press ACC Newcomer of the Year as well as First Team All-ACC.
- This marks the first time since 2003, 2004 and 2005 that Wake Forest has had a First Team honoree for three straight years. Sallis, Appleby and Williams join the likes of Josh Howard ('03), Justin Gray ('04) and Chris Paul ('05).
- Sallis led the Deacs in scoring for the regular season, averaging 18.3 points per game. He was second in the ACC during league play, with an average of 18.5 points per ACC contest. That mark sat behind just RJ Davis of North Carolina, the ACC Player of the Year.
- The Nebraska native was also fourth in league play in field goal percentage, shooting an efficient 50.6 clip from the field during ACC contests.
- Sallis finished the year with his best season of his collegiate career:
- He led the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game while shooting 48.7 from the field, 40.5 percent from behind the arc and 78.3 percent from the line.
- He scored double-digits in all but one of his 34 games in a Wake Forest uniform.
- Sallis ended the season with 914 career points including 613 coming during his lone season in Winston-Salem.
- Sallis had 15 games of 20 or more points including a career-best 33 points in the home win over ACC Tournament Champions and Sweet 16 participant NC State on Feb. 10, finishing the game 12-of-17 from the field and 4-of-6 from three.
- This season, Andrew Carr reached the 100-career blocks, 500-career rebounds and 1,000-career points milestones.
- He finished the season with 27 games in double figures which included five performances of 20 or more points.
- His season-high 28 points came at ACC Tournament Champions and Sweet 16 participant NC State when he went 10-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from three.
- Carr saved his best game for last, netting a career-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the Second Round of the NIT.
- This is the second 30-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Steve Forbes era with the only other coming from Memphis Grizzlies forward Jake Laravia in 2022 when he had 31 points and 10 rebounds against North Carolina.
- Carr recorded six double-double performances including a 12-point, 12-rebound performance in a win over NCAA Tournament participant Virginia on Jan. 13.
- His 1,286 career points are the most on the team and 823 have come in a Wake Forest uniform.
- He finished the season with 27 games in double figures which included five performances of 20 or more points.
- During the postseason run, both Cameron Hildreth and Kevin Miller both reached the 1,000 career point milestone.
- With a jumper at the 10:56 mark in the second half against App State in the First Round of the NIT, Cameron Hildreth became the 58th Demon Deacon all-time to join the 1,000-point club. The junior finished the contest with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, in addition to three rebounds and a block.
- He was the second Wake Forest player to reach 1,000-career points this season, joining Andrew Carr.
- With his first basket at the 13:12 mark in the first half against Georgia in the Second Round of the NIT, Kevin Miller became the 59th player in Wake Forest history to join the 1,000-point club. The sophomore guard finished with 14 points and is at 1,013 points for his career.
- He was the third Wake Forest player to reach 1,000-career points this season, joining Andrew Carr and Cameron Hildreth.
- With a jumper at the 10:56 mark in the second half against App State in the First Round of the NIT, Cameron Hildreth became the 58th Demon Deacon all-time to join the 1,000-point club. The junior finished the contest with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, in addition to three rebounds and a block.
- Wake Forest saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 164,931 fans packing Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
- This marked the highest total attendance since the 2014-15 season when Wake Forest hosted 174,336 fans during the 2014-15 season.
- Wake Forest now holds an impressive 48-7 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including a 17-2 mark this season, the best since having the most home wins in program history during the 2021-22 season when Wake Forest finished with a mark of 18-2. Additionally, it is the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Deacs have had one or fewer losses at LJVM Coliseum. The Demon Deacons overall wins since the start of the 2021-22 season rank second in the country and leads the ACC during that time frame:
- 1 Houston 49 .942
- 2 Wake Forest 48 .887
- T3 Arizona 47 .940
- T3 Texas 47 .855
- T5 Saint Mary's 46 .885
- T5 Kentucky 46 .852
- T5 Kansas 46 .939
- T5 Duke 46 .885
- T5 Purdue 46 .939
- T10 Vermont 45 .957
- T10 Auburn 45 .938
- T10 UConn 45 .918
- T10 Grand Canyon 45 .882
- T10 Iowa State 45 .849
- T10 Providence 45 .849
- T10 UAB 45 .833
- It marks the most home wins by an ACC team since 2021 and the best winning percentage (.887).
- Wake Forest - 48
- Duke - 46
- North Carolina - 41
- Virginia - 41
- Virginia Tech - 39
- The 17 home wins this season are the second-most in program history, trailing just the 2021-22 season when the Demon Deacons finished with an impressive home of 18-2:
- Rank Wins Season
- 1 18 2021-22
- 2. 17 2023-24
- T3. 16 2004-05
- T3. 16 2002-03
- 5. 15 2007-08
- T6. 14 2013-14
- T6. 14 2008-09
- T6. 14 1995-96
- T6. 14 1993-94
Team Stats
UGa
WF
FG%
.431
.391
3FG%
.519
.136
FT%
.824
.765
RB
36
36
TO
16
8
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Pts
31
FGM
11
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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