Wake Forest Men’s Basketball (15-4, 7-1 ACC) is all too familiar with sluggish starts and heroic endings. Their Tobacco Road rivalry against the North Carolina Tar Heels (12-8, 5-3 ACC) was no different. After a halftime transformation, the Demon Deacons downed the Tar Heels 67-66.
“I was really disappointed how we played offense in the first half. I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a game where we didn’t have any assists in the half,” Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes said postgame. “We were launching, getting sped up. We just weren’t moving [the ball] well.”
Both teams struggled mightily in the first half. The Demon Deacons committed 13 fouls and 10 turnovers in the first frame, marks that represented total-game measures (10 total turnovers against NC State, 12 fouls against Stanford). While the Tar Heels held a two-point lead at the half, they also committed 14 fouls and eight turnovers.
By the second half, both teams seemingly shook off the rust, consecutively trading buckets. Then, with just under 14 minutes left in the second half, Tre’Von Spillers (12 PTS, 9 REB) benefited off of a well-executed play, connecting on the team’s first three-point shot of the game. This proved to be a turning point, as the Demon Deacons went on a 12-0, including their second and final three from Ty-Laur Johnson (7 PTS, 2-5 FG).
“In the second half, we really came off the ball well,” Forbes said. “[Our offense] had better flow, we cut, we kicked it opposite.”
Approaching the final five minutes, both crowds were rowdy, screaming their respective chants. The Demon Deacons proved resilient, going on another run (10-2). While the Tar Heels rallied late, they ultimately were unable to complete the comeback. With 23 seconds left, Wake Forest led 67-60. However, within the final 11 seconds, the Tar Heels hit back-to-back threes to tighten the final score.
“They’re a very resilient, tight-knit group that didn’t have their A-game,” Forbes said. “You have to figure out how to win.”
Wake Forest flipped the script at halftime regarding their shooting percentages, going from 29.6% in the first half to 50.0% in the second. On the box score, it was a well-rounded attack for the Demon Deacons, with four players going in double figures. Cameron Hildreth (20 PTS, 5-16 FG) had a team-high in points, while Hunter Sallis (14 PTS, 9 REB) scored in double digits for the eighth straight game.
“We want to win [these games], especially as seniors,” Hildreth said postgame. “We’ve got a great team –– we trust each other, we believe in each other. We all have a great relationship with one another.”
Wake Forest will host the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (16-2, 8-0 ACC) this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tip-off is set to be broadcast on ESPN.
