Five Deacs Reach Double-Figures as Wake Forest Defeats UMass Lowell 109-75

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – On the back of a 61-point second half, the Wake Forest men's basketball team (3-1, 0-0 ACC) secured its third home win of the season as the Demon Deacons defeated UMass Lowell (1-4, 0-0 America East), 109-65, on Sunday afternoon inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Deacs shot 38-of-68 (55.9 percent) from the field against the River Hawks, including going 21-of-37 (56.8 percent) in the second half alone. In addition, the Deacs went 13-of-30 from beyond the arc.

Five Deacs finished the game in double-figures, including graduate forward Tre'Von Spillers, who finished the game with a season-high 21 points on an incredibly efficient 8-of-9 from the floor. With his performance, the Charleston, S.C., native became the first Wake Forest player since Dallas Walton and 16th player overall since the 1996-97 season to reach 20 points while shooting 88 percent or better from the field.

Sophomore guard Juke Harris continued his stellar start to the season as he finished the game with 21 points to go along with six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Harris is now averaging 21.5 points per game while also hauling in seven rebounds a game.

Senior guard Nate Calmese recorded a season-high 15 points while shooting 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. The Gilbert, Ariz., also added a team-high seven assists, three steals and six rebounds.

Junior forward Omaha Biliew had the best game of his Wake Forest career to date, totaling 13 points and four rebounds while connecting on all four of his field goal attempts. Biliew also added his first three-pointer of the season as he went 3-for-3 from range.

Finally, junior guard Myles Colvin rattled off 13 points off the bench, including a heave from past half court that beat the first half buzzer.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons held UMass Lowell to 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from three, including just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half. The Deacs also recorded 14 steals on 15 turnovers, bringing their season total to 12.5 steals per game.

How It Happened

Tre'Von Spillers scored the first points of the game with a pair of free throws.
After UMass-Lowell jumped ahead, Omaha Biliew hit his first three-pointer of the season to give the Deacs the lead back.
- Spillers added his first basket on the next trip down the court to make it 7-4.
Nate Calmese knocked down his first triple of the game to give Wake Forest a three-point lead with 16:32 left in the first half.
- Spillers hit another jumper in the paint two possessions later to extend the lead up to five points.
Biliew added two from the line to make it 14-10 following a timeout.
After the River Hawks tied the game, Sebastian Akins drove through the lane and finished at the rim as the Deacs reclaimed the lead.
- Akins added a three-pointer on the next possession to make it 19-16.
- Cooper Schweiger cleaned up the offensive glass the next trip to extend the advantage back to five.
After UMass Lowell cut the lead down to one, Spillers grabbed an offensive board before adding another jumper to make it 23-20.
Biliew sank another three-pointer from the corner to put the Demon Deacons up by six with 7:54 left in the first half.
Calmese finished high off the glass to give Wake Forest a 29-24 lead.
- Myles Colvin added his first basket of the game the following possession to give the Demon Deacons a seven-point cushion.
Spillers slammed down a dunk off the feed from Juke Harris to make it 33-25 with 5:09 remaining in the half.
After the River Hawks cut the lead down to one possession with back-to-back threes, Spillers added his fifth field goal of the half to put the Deacs back up by four.
Following a timeout, Harris connected on his first field goal of the game to make it 37-33 with 3:23 left in the first half.
- Harris converted another layup moments later to give the Deacs a six-point lead.
Marqus Marrion notched his first point of the game at the charity stripe as the Deacs eclipsed 40 points in the half.
The Demon Deacons went on an 8-0 run in the final 39 seconds of the first half to take a 48-38 lead into halftime.
- Colvin buried a three-pointer from the wing to make it 43-38.
- Mekhi Mason added his first two points of the game from the line on the next possession.
- Colvin hit a 55-foot heave at the buzzer to put the Deacs up by 10.
The Demon Deacons opened the half on an 8-2 run to extend their lead to 56-40.
- Mason opened the half with a pair of free throws.
- Spillers added his first bucket of the half moments later to give Wake Forest a 14-point lead.
- Harris added two from the line to make it 54-40.
- Spillers hammered down a ferocious slam in transition following a steal by Harris to force a timeout by UMass Lowell.
The Deacs went on a 28-4 run over a 5:08 span to take an 86-49 lead.
- Harris hit a tough layup out of the timeout to make it 58-43 with 16:44 left in the contest.
- Harris connected on a turnaround jumper the next trip down the court to move into double-figures.
- Calmese made his first basket of the half to put the Deacs up by 17.
- After a media timeout, Calmese hit a pair from the line to extend the lead to 19 points.
- Harris also added two free throws to make it 66-45 with 14:22 left.
- Calmese moved into double-figures with back-to-back threes to extend the lead to 27 points.
- Spillers added a ferocious slam in transition before finding Harris for an alley-oop to make it a 31-point game.
- Harris added another three-pointer and a layup to give Wake Forest an 83-47 lead.
- Marion added his first field goal of the game with a layup in transition to put the Demon Deacons up by 36.
- Colvin concluded the run with a corner three.
After a 7-0 run by the River Hawks, Colvin added a dunk following an offensive rebound.
Biliew connected on another slam to make it 90-58 with 7:53 left in the game.
- Mason drained a three on the next trip down as the Demon Deacons retook a 31-point lead.
Harris recorded another transition slam to put the Deacs back up by 30 following a media timeout.
Isaac Carr recorded his first points of his collegiate career to make it 97-65 with 4:17 remaining.
Spillers hit a pair from the charity stripe coming out of the final media timeout.
- Jaylen Cross tallied his first collegiate points to push the Demon Deacons over the 100-point mark.
- After an offensive rebound by Schweiger, Carr hit a three-pointer to make it 103-65.
- Biliew connected on another three the following possession to put the Deacs up by 41.
Cross connected on and-one to extend the lead to 109-71.
The Demon Deacons defeated the River Hawks 109-75.

Stats of the Game

Wake Forest reached the 100-point mark for the fifth time under head coach Steve Forbes and for the first time since Nov. 6, 2023 against Elon.
- It is also the second-most points in a game for the Deacs during that span.

100-Point Games Under Forbes

Date	Opponent	Location	Score
11/25/2020	Delaware State	Winston-Salem, N.C.	W, 111-51
11/16/2025	UMass Lowell	Winston-Salem, N.C.	W, 109-75
11/23/2022	SC State	Winston-Salem, N.C.	W, 105-74
3/2/2022	NC State	Winston-Salem, N.C.	W, 101-76
11/6/2023	Elon	Winston-Salem, N.C.	W, 101-78

Additionally, Sunday marked the sixth time under Forbes the team won by a margin of 30-or-more and third-highest during that span.

30-Point Victories Under Forbes

Date	Opponent	Location	Score	Margin
11/25/2020	Delaware State	Winston-Salem, N.C.	111-51	+60
11/17/2021	Charleston Southern	Winston-Salem, N.C.	95-59	+36
11/16/2025	UMass Lowell	Winston-Salem, N.C.	109-75	+34
2/20/2024	Pitt	Winston-Salem, N.C.	91-58	+33
11/23/2021	Kennesaw State	Winston-Salem, N.C.	92-61	+31
11/23/2022	SC State	Winston-Salem, N.C.	105-74	+31
1/24/2022	Boston College	Winston-Salem, N.C.	87-57	+30

Key Moment

The Deacs went on a 28-4 run over a 5:08 span to take an 86-49 lead.
- Harris hit a tough layup out of the timeout to make it 58-43 with 16:44 left in the contest.
- Harris connected on a turnaround jumper the next trip down the court to move into double-figures.
- Calmese made his first basket of the half to put the Deacs up by 17.
- After a media timeout, Calmese hit a pair from the line to extend the lead to 19 points.
- Harris also added two free throws to make it 66-45 with 14:22 left.
- Calmese moved into double-figures with back-to-back threes to extend the lead to 27 points.
- Spillers added a ferocious slam in transition before finding Harris for an alley-oop to make it a 31-point game.
- Harris added another three-pointer and a layup to give Wake Forest an 83-47 lead.
- Marion added his first field goal of the game with a layup in transition to put the Demon Deacons up by 36.
- Colvin concluded the run with a corner three.

Coach's Comments
"I have a lot of respect for Pat Duquette. I think he's a really good basketball coach, and he's been around a long time. I thought he had his team prepared today, especially early. I thought we were really slow to the ball defensively in the first few minutes of the game. We deflected a lot of balls and couldn't get our hands on them. Their first seven points were off our deflections, which isn't good. We had a really hard time guarding number 55. He was a really, really good player off the dribble. He made it harder for our bigs. I thought they had a good game plan against us. They played UConn earlier, and so I knew they would. He's too good of a coach not to.

I just thought we were a step slow defensively in the first half. When we did take it from them, we didn't convert. We either turned it over or didn't convert. I wasn't very happy at halftime, and Myles [Colvin] did a good job of sparking us at the end of the half. I thought in the second half, we came out with the right level of intensity defensively. We started turning defense into offense. I think from about 15:53 until the 11-minute mark, we went on a 19-2 run and kind of broke the game open. We had eight-straight stops. I thought our debt formed down. A lot of guys played for a lot of minutes.

We played the right way offensively. The ball got in the lane and we either scored it or we kicked it. A lot of guys had good games. Juke [Harris] didn't get off to a great start, but he came in here and scored 21 points. I thought Nate [Calmese] played a really good floor game. He had 15 points, seven assists, and no turnovers. We had 19 assists on 38 baskets. We were trying to get to 20 or 20-plus. We shot the three well. We shot free throws well. When we do that, we're going to be a pretty good team." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest is set to compete in the Baha Mar Championship Nov. 20-21 at the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas.

The Demon Deacons will first take on No. 11 Texas Tech on Thursday evening for an 8:30 p.m. tip that will air nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Pending the results from Thursday's games, Wake Forest will face either No. 1/2 Purdue or Memphis on Friday.

Five Deacs Reach Double-Figures as Wake Forest Defeats UMass Lowell 109-75

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Team Stats

Juke Harris

Tre'Von Spillers

Nate Calmese

Omaha Biliew

Players Mentioned

Sebastian Akins

Omaha Biliew

Nate Calmese

Isaac Carr

Myles Colvin

Jaylen Cross

Juke Harris

Mekhi Mason

Tre'Von Spillers

Wake Forest Athletics

Five Deacs Reach Double-Figures as Wake Forest Defeats UMass Lowell 109-75

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Juke Harris

Tre'Von Spillers

Nate Calmese

Omaha Biliew

Players Mentioned

Sebastian Akins

Omaha Biliew

Nate Calmese

Isaac Carr

Myles Colvin

Jaylen Cross

Juke Harris

Mekhi Mason

Tre'Von Spillers

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