Nate Calmese Heroics Help Wake Forest Win in Comeback Fashion
In this story:
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-7, 2-3 ACC) got their second ACC win of the season on the road in Tallahassee on Saturday. Nate Calmese hit a floater to put the Deacs up by one with less than eight seconds remaining. From there, the defense got one more stop to close the deal. Let’s go through some of the highlights.
This game marked a starting lineup shakeup for Wake Forest. Junior Cooper Schwieger started in place of senior Tre’Von Spillers. The frontcourt has struggled in recent weeks, so this shakeup was definitely warranted. Unfortunately, Omaha Biliew was only able to play four minutes in this one.
Florida State (7-11, 0-5 ACC) held the advantage for most of the first half, as they got off to a fast start. The Deacs were left fighting from behind. They trailed by three points going into the locker room.
In the second half, Wake built a four-point lead, and it looked like they would start to have their way. However, they were unable to capitalize on the momentum, and the Seminoles quickly regained the lead.
Inside ten minutes, the Deacs went on a scoreless drought for nearly five minutes. Florida State got their lead to as much as nine.
In the final three and a half minutes, the Deacs took advantage of Florida State's mistakes and chipped away at their advantage. They were not able to complete the comeback and capture the lead until the shot by Calmese with just seconds remaining.
A Deeper Dive
Despite the win, Wake had a pretty poor shooting performance. They shot just 41% from the field as a team and 24% from three. They had numerous open looks but simply could not convert on opportunities for most of this one.
In terms of scoring, Nate Calmese led the way in this one with 18 points. Juke Harris and Myles Colvin each chipped in with 15 apiece. Cooper Schwieger had eight points, including a crucial put-back late in the game.
The big problem for most of this one came on the boards. Wake was out rebounded 44-28. This is a pretty significant disadvantage and needs to be cleaned up in the future.
Despite the struggles, it is always great to get a win. It was also fun to see Calmese be the hero again down the stretch. He is becoming a clutch scorer for this team.
Wake Forest vs. Florida State - Game Stats
Game Stats | Wake Forest | Florida State |
|---|---|---|
FG | 26-63 (41.3%) | 22-58 (37.9%) |
3PT | 8-34 (23.5%) | 7-31 (22.6%) |
FT | 9-12 (75.0%) | 17-19 (89.5%) |
Rebounds | 26 | 39 |
Assists | 8 | 10 |
Turnovers | 5 | 16 |
Blocks | 2 | 2 |
Steals | 10 | 2 |
What's Next for the Demon Deacons?
The Deacs look to keep up the good vibes when they host SMU (13-5, 2-3 ACC) at the Joel this Tuesday. The game is at 9 p.m. ET and can be seen on the ACC Network.
Recommend Articles
Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.