Wake Forest Battles No. 6 Michigan in Wolverine-Deacon Challenge Showdown in Detroit

Tuesday, November 11

Detroit, Mich.

6:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

Michigan

Wake Forest Battles No. 6 Michigan in Wolverine-Deacon Challenge Showdown in Detroit

11/11/2025 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

DETROIT – The Wake Forest men's basketball team (2-1, 0-0 ACC) battled No. 6 Michigan (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in an overtime thriller during the second Wolverine-Deacon Challenge Showdown on Tuesday night, ultimately coming up just short, 85-84, at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Sophomore guard Juke Harris led the way for the Deacs, finishing the game with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The Salisbury, N.C., native also recorded six rebounds, two steals, and an assist.

Senior guard Mekhi Mason had another impressive showing for Wake Forest, ending his night with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. The Gilbert, Ariz., native also led the team with three steals.

Two other Deacs finished Tuesday's game in double-figures, with junior guard Myles Colvin logging 13 points and seven rebounds, and senior guard Nate Calmese adding 11 points and five assists.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons continued their outstanding three-point defense as they held Michigan to 4-of-25 (16 percent) from beyond the arc, including 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) in the second half to help erase a 13-point halftime deficit. Wake Forest has now held their first three opponents to 19-of-86 from three-point territory (22.1 percent).

The Deacs also forced 17 turnovers on the night, bringing their season total to 53 forced turnovers, the second-most in the ACC. Additionally, with their nine steals against the Wolverines, the Demon Deacons are now averaging an ACC-leading 12 steals a game.

How It Happened

Michigan won the opening tip.
After the Wolverines grabbed the first lead of the night, Tre'Von Spillers added the Deacs' first points of the game at the free throw line.
The Demon Deacons went on a 9-0 run across 1:38 of play to take a four-point lead heading into the first media timeout.
- Mekhi Mason added the Demon Deacons first field goal at the 17:34 mark, as his three-pointer cut the Michigan lead down to two.
- Nate Calmese made a three-pointer on the next possession to give Wake Forest their first lead of the game.
- Spillers made it 10-7 with a jumper in the paint the next trip down the court, following a Calmese steal.
- Omaha Biliew made one of his two free throw attempts to put the Deacs up by four.
After Michigan reclaimed the lead with back-to-back threes, Myles Colvin made a three-pointer of his own to give Wake Forest the advantage right back.
- Cooper Schweiger added a second-chance hook shot on the next possession to make it 16-12.
Sebastian Akins and Spillers connected on an alley-oop to put Wake Forest up by four with 11:54 remaining in the first half.
After Michigan tied the game at 18-18, Juke Harris recorded his first field goal of the night to give the Deacs a three-point advantage.
Mason knocked down his second triple of the game to make it 24-22 coming out of a timeout.
The Wolverines went on a 7-0 run.
Biliew recorded his first basket of the night to cut the Michigan lead down to 29-26.
Harris ended an extended 12-2 run by the Wolverines with a jumper with 2:53 left in the half.
- Harris added a pair from the line to cut the deficit down to eight on the next possession.
Akins connected on jumpers on back-to-back possessions to make it 43-34.
The Demon Deacons trailed the Wolverines 47-34 at the half.
- Harris led Wake Forest with seven points.
Wake Forest grabbed the first points of the second half as Mason connected on both of his shots from the foul line.
Following an offensive rebound by Spillers, Mason hit a pull-up jumper to reach double-figures and cut the deficit down to 11.
- Mason found Spillers two possessions later to make it 51-40.
The Deacs went on an 8-0 run across a 47-second span to cut the Wolverine lead down to five points.
- Harris recorded a putback layup before adding a three-pointer on a fast break on back-to-back possessions.
- Harris converted an and-one to make it 53-48 with 15:06 remaining in the second half.
Calmese connected on a three-pointer off an assist from Colvin to make it a four-point game.
- Harris tipped in a miss from Spillers on the next trip to cut the Michigan lead down to 56-53.
Out of a timeout, Harris added a pair from the line to cut the deficit down to five.
- Akins made both of his free throw attempts on the next trip down the court to make it a one-possession game.
Following an offensive rebound by Marqus Marion, the Deacs made it a two-point game on a three-pointer by Mason.
- Colvin added a transition layup following a steal by Mason to make it 64-62 with 9:33 left in the game.
- Cooper Schweiger tied the game moments later with an emphatic slam, forcing a Michigan timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Calmese responded to a dunk by the Wolverines with an and-one on the other end to give Wake Forest a 67-66 lead.
Wake Forest went on a 10-2 run to take a seven-point lead.
- The Deacs reclaimed a 70-68 lead on an emphatic and-one dunk from Colvin with 6:42 left in the second half.
- Schweiger extended the lead to 72-68 with a put back layup on the next possession.
- Calmese knocked down a pair of free throws to give Wake Forest a six-point lead.
- After a jumper by the Wolverines, Mason responded with his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 77-70.
Michigan went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead.
Colvin hit a three-pointer with 54.5 seconds remaining to give the Deacs an 80-78 lead.
The Wolverines tied the game at 80 all to send it into overtime.
After Michigan took the lead on the first possession of overtime, Colvin responded with a soaring finish at the rim to tie the game.
The Deacs tied the game once again with 1:52 remaining in overtime on a Schweiger jumper in the lane.
The Demon Deacons fell in overtime, 85-84.

Stats of the Game

The Deacs held Michigan to 35.5 percent shooting in the second half.
- The Demon Deacons also held the Wolverines to 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from three-point range in the second half.
Wake Forest had 17 assists on its 29 made baskets.
Four Deacs reached double figures in scoring:
- Juke Harris – 19 points (game high)
- Mekhi Mason – 16 points
- Myles Colvin – 13 points
- Nate Calmese – 11 points
On the rebounding end, five players snagged six or more boards:
- Mekhi Mason – 7 rebounds
- Myles Colvin – 7 rebounds
- Marqus Marion – 6 rebounds
- Nate Calmese – 6 rebounds
- Juke Harris – 6 rebounds

Coach's Comments
"They got up on us early. We couldn't keep them out of transition. They were really good in transition. We did a pretty good job guarding them in the half court, and then we started to foul, and they went to line a ton in the first half. Not only do they score points, but then that puts their defense set as we come up the court. We're a lot better in transition and flow than playing a set court, so they had the game going their way. Aday Mara was a big factor. He changed the game. Not only did he block a lot of shots, but he changed a lot of them too. He's a good player. He has got a really good touch. You know, I've seen Elliott [Cadeau] play too much, but he's really good with handling the ball, the pace, and he gets the ball to the right people. Ronnie Gayle is a really nice basketball player, man. He's hard to guard. He made a big three. He's just a really good player. I've been watching Yaxel [Lendborg] a lot. One of my best friends in the world, Ryan Cross, signed him at UAB. He was his coach. He's going to be a handful.

"I thought the second half we got things going our way. We got in their lane and their paint, and started making some good decisions. Didn't foul as much because we hurt them on the offensive glass. Here's the thing about offensive glass: it takes the other team out of transition. If you send your guys and they go hard and they got to be in there, or we're laying it up. It worked well for us. We scored 33 points in the second half. I think they scored 69 and a half on the open. We had a seven-point lead. Probably had three turnovers there. We had a pocket pass to Tre'Von Spillers that he couldn't handle. We had Marqus [Marion] get stripped, I think Juke [Harris] got stripped. We fought back. We still had a chance. Myles [Colvin] made a big three. Calmese, you know, had the ball. We ran a play in regulation. They got in there and he got stripped.

"I think they may have made a great play on the ball in overtime again. You know, the big play for us was that we didn't get the rebound. Was that regulation we had, we had a two-point lead. They missed a free throw, and we got to, we were in the inside position. The ball got knocked off our leg, out of bounds and then they scored. The last play we had some options. We threw it to Myles. Myles kind of ripped it and got it to Nate. He drove it and he got a pretty good look. I thought it looked like it was going to go. I think Mara probably changed it.

"Credit to them. We've had a good series. We beat them by two in Greensboro, and they beat us by one in overtime. It's hard to believe, going back to last year, that we finished fourth in the ACC and beat the Big 10 tournament champs, and we didn't make the tournament. It's crazy to me, this world that we live in, but it is what it is. Hopefully we can learn from this. We have a game Sunday, and then we go play in the Bahamas." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest will return to Winston-Salem for a Sunday afternoon showdown against UMass Lowell. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the matchup will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.