Carr drills buzzer beater, Wake Forest survives Appalachian State 67-66
As 12.5 point home favorites Wednesday night, Wake Forest needed a miracle to emerge unscathed. And they got just that.
Inbounding the ball from the sideline down a point with 1.3 seconds to go, Cameron Hildreth found Andrew Carr about fifteen feet from the basket on the right wing. The 6-10 Carr elevated and faded away for a turnaround jumper, and caught nothing but nylon.
"Great play design," Carr said after the game. "Cam did a great job of getting me the ball. It's an awesome feeling. That's my first legit game winner."
Teammates celebrate Andrew Carr's game winning shot
"Andrew made a really big time shot" Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes said. "This is one of the nice things about our team. These guys can really execute."
The Deacs held a two-point advantage with 14 seconds remaining, but App State's Terence Harcum connected from downtown to give the Mountaineers a lead.
Wake's star guard, Tyree Appleby, hurt his ankle on that play, and hobbled away to the locker room. After a timeout, Cameron Hildreth drove to the basket and missed a layup. There was a scrum for the rebound, and the Mountaineers earned possession after a held ball was called.
With 2.3 seconds on the clock, the Mountaineers struggled to inbound the basketball, and pesky defense from the Deacs led to a turnover. Carr took care of the rest from there.
Carr scored a season high 20 points in the game, on an efficient 8-14 shooting. He made 3-5 attempts from long range and grabbed five rebounds in 37 minutes.
Daivien Williamson made 4-7 threes on his way to a 12 point outing, including a key triple late in the second half to knot the game up at 59. Hildreth scored in double figures for the seventh straight outing, with a 10 point, six rebound, three assist, two steal effort.
Appleby scored 15 points, also adding four assists and three steals. He did turn the ball over six times, but Forbes revealed post game that he was playing through an injury.
"Credit to him for even playing," said Forbes. "He's a tough kid."
Appleby's injury doesn't appear to be serious, but it's definitely something to monitor, with a tough Rutgers opponent looming on Saturday.
"He'll do everything he can to try to play on Saturday," said Forbes. He's in a lot of pain, but he's a tough kid. He's resilient. He's the heartbeat of our team."
Zach Keller and Damari Monsanto both didn't play in this game, even though they were starters in the last few. Forbes revealed postgame that Monsanto wasn't meeting the team's standards in practice, and that's why he didn't see the court.
Christopher Mantis led the way for the Mountaineers, with 18 points on incredibly efficient 6-7 shooting.
Wake Forest trailed 37-31 at the half, but opened the second period on a 17-2 run, jumping out to a 48-39 lead. The Mountaineers would not go away though, and the Deacs were lucky to escape with a W.
Wake moves to 8-3 on the season, and remains perfect with a 21-0 mark in the the all time series history against the fellow North Carolinian school. App State drops to 6-5.
Next up for the Demon Deacons is a trip to the daunting Rutgers Athletic Complex on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights are 6-4, but they beat No. 14 Indiana by 15 at home on Dec. 3, and their last two losses are by a combined three points. Tipoff is set for noon ET.
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