Men’s Basketball took down the Navy Midshipmen at the Joel Coliseum by a score of 82-72 in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament on Wednesday, March 18. The Demon Deacons received a bid to the NIT as one of the four No. 1 seeds, giving them the chance to host up to three games at the Joel, provided they win their first two matchups.
Neither team started off well offensively as the Deacs struggled from the 3-point range early. However, with the help of strong offensive rebounding and good free-throw shooting, they extended their early lead to 9 points midway through the first half.
The Midshipmen lacked significant size on their roster with the exception of 6-foot-11-inch big man Aiden Kehoe, and the Deacs were able to capitalize on the boards for plenty of second chances. Nonetheless, shooting 2-for-16 from beyond the arc in the first half allowed Navy to cut into the Wake Forest lead, tying the teams at 26-26 with about six minutes remaining in the half.
Navy’s well-coached offense used strong spacing and ample ball screen action to create open shots and overcome their size disadvantage.
“Their pace on offense was way faster than our pace on defense,” head coach Steve Forbes said postgame. “We weren’t making them miss. We were hoping they missed.”
Fortunately for the Deacs, they continued to draw fouls as they hit eight more free throws the rest of the half to help build a 38-34 cushion at halftime.
The second half was a much better look for Wake Forest’s offense. The Deacs shot better from beyond the arc, but the real difference came in a heightened focus on working their offense into the paint and finishing at the rim. Tre’Von Spillers and Omaha Biliew had a very strong half, with 8 and 11 points respectively.
Per usual, sophomore guard Juke Harris was a superstar. He, too, found a lot of success attacking the lane and getting to the rim en route to a 26-point performance.
“I don’t know what else to say about [Harris],” Forbes said. “He’s a hell of a player.”
With the help of this improved interior play, the Deacs further extended their lead around midway through the second half, as their advantage got well into the teens for the majority of the remaining ten minutes. Navy got a few points back in the final few minutes as the Deacons cleared their bench, but this game ended with Wake Forest moving on to the second round of the NIT with an 82-72 victory.
The Deacs will now host the No. 4 Illinois State Redbirds, who handily defeated Kent State 79-58 in their first-round matchup on Wednesday night.
