On March 7, the Wake Forest Men’s Basketball team (15-15, 6-11 ACC) played in their final home game of the season against the California Golden Bears (21-9, 9-8 ACC).
Saturday’s game was special all around as the Joel celebrated both Rodney Rogers Day and Seniors and Graduates Day.
The game to commemorate the late Rodney Rogers, a beloved Demon Deacon and NBA star who passed away in November, was originally scheduled for Wake Forest’s home match-up against N.C. State, but was rescheduled due to snow. The family, friends and teammates of Rogers, as well as players and a crowd of adoring alumni, wore #54 to honor his on and off-the-court legacy.
In addition, Wake Forest honored four graduating senior players, Nate Calmese, Mekhi Mason, Tre’Von Spillers and Owen Kmety.
After finally showing some signs of life in their previous matchup against No. 13 Virginia, albeit without taking home a victory, the Demon Deacons sought a happy ending to a fairly disappointing regular season.
The Golden Bears, who were just coming off a commanding victory against Georgia Tech, looked to solidify their position in the upcoming ACC tournament. Led by junior guard Dai Dai Ames, California was confident in their ability to take down the slumping Demon Deacons.
In the early minutes of the contest, the Bears had all of the momentum in their favor. By taking advantage of Wake’s inability to convert from outside the paint, California headed back to the locker room at halftime with an 8-point lead.
“In the first half, Cal guarded us really hard,” Coach Steve Forbes said. “They’re one of the better defensive teams in our league, and they probably don’t get enough credit for that. They gave us a lot of problems.”
While recent games may have suggested that a second-half push would be out of the question for the Demon Deacons, something seemingly clicked for the struggling squad. Extra space was found, the 3-pointers began to drop and rebounds were corralled in crucial moments.
Compared to their first half, in which they shot just 2-11 from beyond the arc, Wake Forest converted an incredible 41.7% from the 3-point line in the final 20 minutes. That, paired with an incredible 30% increase from the field, was enough to give the Demon Deacons a much-needed ACC victory.
In the last minute of the game, Kmety, a senior who had not received any playing time all season, was put on the court. With an assist from Mason, he finished the game with a 1-foot dunk, going 1-for-1 in his college career.
“In the second half, we kind of cracked the code. Our offense started clicking,” Forbes said. “We just found a way to win, and it was a great crowd.”
Although this win was nothing short of a complete team effort, the herculean efforts from junior guard Juke Harris cannot be understated. Harris, who has broken out this season to become a top player in the conference, shone against the Golden Bears.
Along with his team leading 31 points, Harris brought down a season-high 15 rebounds in Saturday’s contest. With the latter arguably being Wake’s biggest weakness, a strong performance in this category set the tone for the rest of the team.
A win like this not only gives the Demon Deacons a chance to contend in the upcoming ACC Tournament as the No. 13 seed but has the potential to propel their efforts ahead of the challenging competition.
Wake Forest will now make the short trip out to Charlotte, N.C., where they will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in the first round of the conference tournament. After being unable to make any strong waves in the annual event as of late, the Demon Deacons will look to change their luck and start the postseason on a high note.
