Deacs Finish 16-1 at Home, Defeating Clemson, 81-76

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's basketball team capped off an impressive 16-1 campaign at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Seniors and Graduates Day Saturday evening, defeating Clemson, 81-76, clinching the No. 5 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.

With the win over the Tigers (21-10, 11-9 ACC), the Demon Deacons (19-12, 11-9 ACC) have finished with 10 or more ACC wins in three consecutive seasons, the first time since 1995-97. 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.

Wake Forest saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 153,426 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.

The Demon Deacons now hold an impressive 47-6 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including an impressive 16-1 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.

Additionally, the 47 wins at home during the last two seasons are tied for the second most in the country:

Rank	Team	Home Wins	Winning Percentage
1	Houston	48	.941
T2	Wake Forest	47	.887
T2	Arizona	47	.940

Junior guard Hunter Sallis wrapped up his regular season with his team-best 15th 20-point performance of the campaign. The Omaha-native finished with 22 points on 7-of-13 (.538) shooting, including 3-of-6 (.500) and 5-of-6 (.833) clips from three and the free throw line, respectively. He also led the team with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. It marked the first instance of a Demon Deacon leading the team in all three major categories in a game since Tyree Appleby did so against North Carolina on Feb. 7, 2023.

On his senior night, forward Andrew Carr chipped in 17 points on 6-of-7 (.857) shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 (.667) from beyond-the-arc. The West Chester, Penn-native also notched five rebounds and dished out three assists. It marked his 10th instance this season with at least 15 points and five rebounds.

Junior duo Cameron Hildreth and Efton Reid III also recorded double-digit scoring performances with 11 and 12 points, respectively. Hildreth also hauled in seven rebounds, which tied for the team-high. Of note, Reid III has scored 10-or-more points in four-consecutive games for the first time this season and has averaged 12 points and seven rebounds during that span.

Wake Forest will prepare for the start of the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, held at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. this year (March 12-16). As the No. 5 seed, Wake Forest will play on Wednesday with tipoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The event's bracket will be finalized Saturday, March 9 when all regular-season competition concludes. The game schedule, according to seed placement, can be found here.

Tickets are now available – buy yours today to support the Deacs in D.C.!

How It Happened

A steal from Miller on the defensive end led to a bucket from Carr on the other end for the early 2-0 lead.
Sallis hit a three from the right wing on the next possession to go up 5-2.
- Two possessions later Sallis hit his second three to keep the Wake Forest lead.
Miller got to the baseline for a jumper and the 10-9 lead five minutes in.
On the next possession Sallis bullied his way into the lane for a bucket.
Hildreth made the third straight Wake bucket with a baseline drive to the basket on the next play.
Out of the timeout, Hildreth hit his first three of the game off a pass from Carr for the 17-14 lead.
On the next possession Sallis hit his third three-pointer of the game from the left wing.
The Wake Forest defense held Clemson scoreless for over four minutes of game time while the Deacs went on a 5-0 run.
Sallis ended a short Clemson run with a jumper from outside the paint to keep Wake in front with 4:49 to go in the half.
On the next two plays Carr hit a three off a Sallis dime and Marsh converted an and-one to put the Deacs up 30-28 with 2:55 to go.
A Marsh slam off a Sallis dime maintained Wake's lead and put the Deacs on a 7-0 run.
Wake Forest ended the half with the 34-28 lead.
- Sallis had a game-high 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.
- Hildreth had a game-high six first-half rebounds.
Marsh kicked off the second half with an alleyoop from Sallis.
Carr went 2-of-2 from the free throw line to maintain Wake's lead.
Reid ended a Clemson run with a slam from Hildreth and converted the and-one to tie it at 42.
A jumper from Carr ahead of the timeout ended a Clemson attempt to pull away, 47-44.
Reid went 2-of-2 from the line to keep Wake within three, 49-46, with 11:30 left to play.
After a Clemson turnover, Carr hit a jumper to make it 49-48.
A three from Friedrichsen put Wake back in front, 53-52.
A corner three from Reid extended Wake's lead to 56-52 with nine minutes to go.
- On the next possession Reid slammed it home off a pass from Friedrichsen to keep the four-point lead.
Miller made his way in the lane for a bucket on the next play.
Carr hit his second three of the game to keep the four-point advantage over Clemson.
On the next possession Reid found Carr under the basket for another quick bucket and Wake went up 65-59 with 6:20 to play.
A turnaround jumper from Hildreth after a Clemson turnover extended the Deacs lead to eight.
Miller hit a corner three on the next possession for a nine-point lead with under five minutes left to play.
Hildreth took it coast to coast after a defensive rebound from Carr for the eight-point lead and Reid answered on the next possession with a layup of his own to keep the Deacs in front.
Sallis hit a jumper in the paint out of the timeout to maintain Wake's lead.
Sallis and Miller each went 2-of-2 from the free throw line to seal the win.
Wake Forest defeated Clemson 81-76.

Stats of the Game

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.
Wake Forest saw a resurgence in season attendance numbers this season with 153,426 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 47-6 record at home since the start of the 2021-22 season including an impressive 16-1 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 tied for second in the country and leads the ACC during that time frame:

Rank Team Home Wins Winning Percentage

1 Houston 48 .941
T2 Wake Forest 47 .887
T2 Arizona 47 .940
T3 Texas 46 .852
T3 Saint Mary's 46 .885
T3 Kentucky 46 .852
T3 Kansas 46 .939
T3 Duke 46 .902
T9 Providence 45 .882
T9 Purdue 45 .938
T9 Grand Canyon 45 .882
T9 Iowa State 45 .849
It marks the most home wins by an ACC team since 2021 and the best winning percentage (.887).

Home wins since start of 2021-22:

Wake Forest - 47
Duke - 46
North Carolina - 41
Virginia - 40
Clemson - 38
The 16 home wins this season are tied for the second-most in program history, trailing just the 2021-22 season when the Demon Deacons finished with an impressive home of 18-2:

Single-Season Home Wins in Program History:

Rank Wins Season
1 18 2021-22
T2. 16 2023-24
T2. 16 2004-05
T2. 16 2002-03
5. 15 2007-08
T6. 14 2013-14
T6. 14 2008-09
T6. 14 1995-96
T6. 14 1993-94

Key Moment

With Wake Forest holding a one-point lead (60-59) with 7:30 left in the game, the Demon Deacons went on a key 7-0 run that kept the Deacs up for good.
- On his Senior Day, Andrew Carr hit a three and then followed that up on the next possession with a layup.
- The next possession saw Cameron Hildreth knock down a jumper in the paint, extending the Wake Forest lead out to 67-59 with 5:43 left in the game.
- From this point on, the Deacs had at least a three-point lead the rest of the way en route to a 81-76 victory.

Coach's Comments
"Well, obviously, it's a really happy locker room. Those guys deserve it. They've been through it for the last week and a half. I like to live my life with my glass half full, not half empty. So, I always see the positive in them. They responded in the way that you'd want your team to respond in a high-level game. I'm really proud of them.

Clemson is really good. Hall, Hunter, Schieffelin – all of them are really well coached, and there's a reason why they'll be in the tournament. They're really good. We did a good job of matching their intensity, physicality and tempo for 40 minutes. I only wrote one thing going out of the locker room – GGTT. It was that time, and we did it. They were pretty excited about it.

I told them, before the game, the tournament starts today. I'm not sure what the name of the tournament will be, or is, but it starts today. Now, we'll see who we go play in D.C., and play them one at a time. The best way to get into the NCAA tournament is to win the ACC tournament. We have a squad that is capable of doing that. But again, I'm happy and thought the crowd was incredible all year long. We have 47 home wins in the last three years, best in the ACC, and that's a credit to the players, the crowd and commitment of the institution of Wake Forest to make this a hard place to play. It comes down to the players. " - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next

Wake Forest will prepare for the start of the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, held at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. this year (March 12-16).

The event's bracket will be finalized Saturday, March 9 when all regular-season competition concludes. The game schedule, according to seed placement, can be found here.

Tickets are now available – buy yours today to support the Deacs in D.C.!

Next Event

Team Stats

Hunter Sallis

Andrew Carr

Efton Reid III

Cameron Hildreth

Players Mentioned

Tyree Appleby

Andrew Carr

Cameron Hildreth

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

Wake Forest Athletics