Wake Forest Reaches 20-Win Mark in Victory over Notre Dame

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Playing at home for the second time this week, the Wake Forest men's basketball team (20-9 12-6 ACC) responded with a gritty team performance on Saturday evening, defeating Notre Dame (12-17, 6-12) by a final 74-71 victory for its 20th win of the season.

With the result, Wake Forest is now one of only six programs nationally to have won 60 or more home games over the last four seasons, joined by Houston, Duke, Saint Mary's, Grand Canyon and Kentucky.

Additionally, the Demon Deacons have claimed their 12th ACC victory on the season, marking the eighth time Wake Forest has won 12 or more ACC games in a single season and the second time in four seasons.

Overall, the Deacs have claimed 46 ACC regular season victories since the 2021-22 campaign, tied for the most over a four-year span in program history.

Senior guard Cameron Hildreth put together a monster showing on the offensive end, finishing with a team-high 28 points. The Worthing, England, native shot 10-for-14 from the floor while also grabbing six rebounds and logging three steals.

Senior guard Hunter Sallis made big plays down the stretch to total 17 points for the contest. He also added four rebounds and two blocks to his line.

The senior frontcourt tandem of Tre'Von Spillers and Efton Reid III contributed nine and eight points, respectively. Reid also snagged a team-best seven rebounds.

Sophomore guard Ty-Laur Johnson helped set the tone early defensively, tying his career-high in steals with four. He also recorded a game-high four assists in just under 34 minutes of action. Freshman wing Juke Harris chipped in eight points and four rebounds.

Wake Forest got into a strong scoring rhythm in the second half, making 15 of 26 shots for a 57.7 field goal percentage.

Defensively, the Deacs' defense forced 15 turnovers by Notre Dame. Additionally, the visitors shot only 27.8 percent from three-point distance (5-for-18).

How It Happened

Notre Dame won the opening tip.
After the Deacs forced a Fighting Irish turnover, Wake Forest recorded the first points of the night from Tre'Von Spillers.
Wake Forest recorded three steals on Notre Dame's first five trips down the court.
Out of the under-16 timeout, Cameron Hildreth logged his first points of the night, pump faking the defender before banking in the attempt.
The Deacon defense made it difficult on the Fighting Irish, as Notre Dame went on a three-plus-minute scoring drought. During the dry spell, Wake Forest held Notre Dame to 0-of-6 from the field along with a block.
Ty-Laur Johnson recorded his third steal of the first half, converting the turnover into his first points of the evening.
A tough finish at the basket resulted in an and-one for Juke Harris, as the freshman made his free throw attempt to cut into a Wake Forest deficit of 20-13.
Hildreth would follow it up with an and-one of his own. Harris got the Deacs the ball with Wake's fifth steal of the first half.
Johnson then immediately recorded his fourth steal – matching his career-high – which turned into a thunderous dunk from Hunter Sallis as Notre Dame called a timeout as Wake went on an 8-0 run in 50 seconds.
The Deacs tied the contest at 20-all, as Sallis hit a jumper from the baseline.
Wake Forest took its first lead of the game at 23-22 with less than four minutes left in the first half as Hildreth swished a three.
Wake Forest went into the halftime break trailing by five, 30-25.
Hildreth finger rolled Wake's first points of the second half, pushing his point total for the game to 12.
- The Worthing, England, native then hit a pair of free throws to move the Deacs back within one.
Spillers made his first three of the night as Wake Forest once again got to within one.
Hildreth grabbed his own miss and put it back in to draw Wake within three once again at 39-36.
Off a well-designed inbounds play, Parker Friedrichsen found Spillers on a pass into the middle of the lane that the Charleston, S.C., native would slam home.
Sallis converted on a three-point play, as the senior was fouled driving the lane before knocking down his attempt from the charity stripe.
The Omaha, Neb., native joined Hildreth in double figures (11) by converting both attempts in a one-and-one.
Spillers swatted away the fourth Demon Deacon block of the evening as Wake Forest pulled back within three, 58-55.
Hildreth laid home a reverse layup to reach 20 points for the 10th time in ACC play.
Harris knocked down a corner three to bring the contest back even at 60-60.
- During the push to get back tied, the Demon Deacons made 6-of-8 attempts from the field.
Sallis would get Wake Forest back in front, 62-61 with 4:03 remaining.
- As Wake would take the lead, the defense held Notre Dame scoreless for 4:29.
Hildreth would draw the Notre Dame defender in the opposite direction before driving to the rim and finishing while being fouled. He'd knock down his free throw attempt to push the Wake Forest lead to 65-62.
The Englishman would then get the Deacs to 69-66, recollecting himself from a misstep before stepping back for his 25th points of the night.
- The senior would go to the line for three attempts with 53.7 remaining, making the trio.
Sallis made a pair of free throws to put the Deacs up 74-71 with 13.3 left.
The Deacs were able to get one final stop, holding on for the three-point victory.
Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame, 74-71.

Stats of the Game

Wake Forest was perfect at the free-throw line against the Fighting Irish, going 19-for-19 from the charity stripe.
- Saturday marked the first time this season that the Deacs tallied a perfect free-throw percentage.
The Deacs collected 10 steals in the contest, reaching a double-figure steal total for the seventh time this year.
Cameron Hildreth's 28 points was his second-highest point total of the 2024-25 campaign.
- The senior guard has scored 20-plus points 10 times in ACC play.

Key Moment

With just over six minutes to play in the second half, Tre'Von Spillers started an 8-3 run with a pair of free throws made.
- The senior forward then made a big block, followed by a Cameron Hildreth driving layup.
- Hildreth found Juke Harris in the corner during the team's next offensive possession, as the freshman swished the look to tie the board at 60 all.
- Notre Dame was able to make one free throw, but Hunter Sallis banked in a short jumper to give Wake Forest's its first lead of the half, 62-61.

Coach's Comments
"Today's game was a culmination of what was a wonderful weekend here on campus. Yesterday was a very emotional day for our Hall of Fame ceremony. I spent a lot of time with Skip Prosser's wife, Nancy, and have a picture of Skip in my office. That was very meaningful to me, and I'm sure to her. To go to the ceremony last night was one of the best things I've ever been a part of. Listening to everybody speak about their experience at Wake Forest and what it meant to them made me very proud. We had Lynne Heflin, who ran the basketball program here for [35] years, Ish Smith and obviously Coach Prosser.

Today is indicative of our fanbase – how wonderful and supportive they are. What a great environment to play in today. Our players and staff surely noticed it. I'm very proud to be the coach.

We don't make a lot of threes, so we have to get points in different ways off of turnovers and free throws. In the first half, we only got two free throws but then went 17-for-17 in the second half by being aggressive at the rim. We did a better job of spacing to get Cameron (Hildreth) and Hunter (Sallis) opportunities in there. We were only 7-for-15 at the rim in the first half but then 11-for-18 in the second. Ty-Laur Johnson set the tone defensively early for what was going to be a defensive battle. He was very aggressive and we turned Markus Burton over six times. Then, about seven minutes left in the game, Cameron decided he wanted to guard (Burton). He did an unbelievable job and willed us to win on both ends of the floor. He's just an incredible competitor and a really good player. I'm really happy for our team. It's our 20th overall win and 12th in the league, and we still have two more great opportunities." - head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest will play in its final road regular season contest on Monday evening, facing No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Wake Forest Reaches 20-Win Mark in Victory over Notre Dame

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Team Stats

Cameron Hildreth

Hunter Sallis

Tre'Von Spillers

Juke Harris

Players Mentioned

Parker Friedrichsen

Juke Harris

Cameron Hildreth

Ty-Laur Johnson

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

Tre'Von Spillers

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest Reaches 20-Win Mark in Victory over Notre Dame

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Cameron Hildreth

Hunter Sallis

Tre'Von Spillers

Juke Harris

Players Mentioned

Parker Friedrichsen

Juke Harris

Cameron Hildreth

Ty-Laur Johnson

Efton Reid III

Hunter Sallis

Tre'Von Spillers

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