Appleby's buzzer-beater lifts Wake Forest to 68-65 OT win over Utah Valley
Behind some late-game heroics from Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest defeated Utah Valley 68-65 in overtime to advance to 3-0 on the season. With 3.3 seconds left on the clock, Cameron Hildreth heaved it the length of the court to Matthew Marsh, who leaped up to catch it and found Appleby wide open on the wing for the game-winning three.
“We run our end-of-game plays every practice,” Appleby said. “We were prepared for this moment. I felt like I was too open on that play.”
READ: Live Updates: Wake Forest Basketball vs Utah Valley
Appleby finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, going 12/14 from the free throw line. Just three games in, the Florida transfer is emerging as a team leader and one of the most important players on the roster.
“I’m happy for him,” head coach Steve Forbes said. “He’s a hard-playing kid. I told him that maybe he’ll get on SportsCenter tonight. He’s aggressive. He’s the guy you want with the ball in his hands.”
READ: Key Stats from Wake Forest's win over Utah Valley
While Wake Forest came away with the victory, the game was far from pretty. The Deacs shot 32% from the field and 35% from three, struggling all night to get things going offensively. Utah Valley owned Wake on the glass, out-rebounding the Deacs 53-43 and pulling down 18 offensive boards. Despite the mistakes, Forbes’ squad got the job done.
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“There’s no such thing as a bad win,” Forbes said. “I have to give our guys a lot of credit for sticking with it when things weren’t going well. Most of the credit goes to Utah Valley, they have a really good basketball team and are very well coached. We just found a way to win.”
It was a game of back-and-forth streaks — Utah Valley scored the first nine points of the game before Wake caught fire and reeled off a 16-2 run to take a five-point lead in the first half. The teams went back and forth after that, and Wake held a one-point lead going into the break. The Wolverines threatened to pull away in the second half, at one point taking a seven-point lead. But the Deacs refused to go away.
“Coach [Forbes] was talking about it after the game, that teams at Wake would have ended up losing this game in years past,” forward Andrew Carr said. “I think that being able to keep our composure and fight back in those situations, it’s a testament to not only the coaches but the mental toughness of our team. We’re not going to be out of any game because of that ability to stay tough and keep battling.”
Carr had a massive impact on the game despite a poor night shooting the ball, finishing with 15 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. The Deacs were challenged in the post by Utah Valley 7-foot big man Aziz Bandaogo, who grabbed 17 rebounds. While Bandaogo presented a tough matchup, the experience will help the team down the road.
“I think we learned a lot,” Forbes said. “It’s good for Andrew and those guys to play against a rim protector like that. Because there’s going to be guys like that in our league.”
Next up for Wake Forest is a trip to Montego Bay to participate in the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic. The Deacs will try to build off this momentum as they take on La Salle, who are coached by the legendary Fran Dunphy. Despite the desirable location, the trip will be all business for Forbes’ group.
“We’ll go over the film and get ready to play,” Forbes said. “We’re going down there to win. We’re not going down there to be on vacation. We’re going there to play basketball.”
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