Takeaways from Wake Forest's 67-66 victory vs Appalachian State
Wake Forest narrowly avoided a third-straight loss on Wednesday night, beating Appalachian State 67-66 on a fadeaway buzzer-beater from Andrew Carr. The Deacs advanced to 8-3 with the win and will face Rutgers on the road on Saturday. Here’s what we learned from the thrilling victory.
Andrew Carr is back
Andrew Carr led the way for the Deacs on Wednesday, dropping in 20 points on 8/14 from the field and 3/5 beyond the arc, also pulling down five rebounds. And of course, he stole the show with this beautiful fadeaway at the buzzer to give Wake Forest the victory:
After getting into foul trouble and struggling in the past three games, Carr’s return to form was much needed. He provides some touch around the rim that Davion Bradford and Matthew Marsh can’t, and his three-point shooting allows the team to space the floor. He’s also a solid defender and can match up with some of the athletic big-men Wake will face in conference play.
The team will need Carr to continue to play at a high level as they get into the nitty gritty of an ACC schedule. His presence on the court improves the team at both ends of the floor, and his performance made all the difference on Wednesday night.
There’s no quit in this team
With 2.3 seconds left in the game, Appalachian State held a one-point lead and the ball. Star point guard Tyree Appleby had just gotten injured and was being helped to the locker room. The game was all but over. However, a tremendous effort on the inbounds play from Wake Forest forced a Mountaineer turnover and gave the Deacs the ball back — Andrew Carr took care of the rest. In most situations, App State would have been able to pass the ball in and run out the clock to come away with the upset. However, the Deacs scrapped just enough to earn one more chance, and it ended up being the difference between a win and a loss.
This grit was a theme throughout the game. The Mountaineers punched Wake in the mouth to start the contest, shooting 17/25 from the field in the first half and taking a six-point lead into the break. The Deacs responded by opening the second half on a 17-2 run and keeping themselves in the game. App State threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Deacs, but the team relied on sheer force of will to survive on a night where they didn’t have their fastball.
After two gut-punch losses to Clemson and LSU, Wake Forest was desperately in need of a win. 8-3 sounds a lot better than 7-4, especially heading into a brutal four-game stretch that begins with Rutgers on the road.
Damari Monsanto is in the doghouse
After starting the past three games, Damari Monsanto did not play against Appalachian State, with Daivien Williamson returning to the starting lineup instead. Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes discussed the decision not to play Monsanto after the game:
“With Damari, it’s more about standard and expectations,” Forbes said. “I love him. I respect him. But there’s a standard, you’ve got to live with me every day at practice. And if you don’t do it, you don’t just automatically get to play. He knows that. God bless him, love him, but he knows how I operate. We had a really good practice yesterday. He wasn’t much a part of that. It will continue that way until that changes. He’ll fix it, or he won’t. But I’m not budging. We need him. But there’s just a certain level of expectations and standard that I have in practice. And he just didn't do it.”
This is an unfortunate development for the Deacs, as Monsanto has frequently provided a spark for the team on both ends this season. He’s averaging just over nine points per game on around 38% three-point shooting and chipping in 1.5 steals per contest. To me, it looked like there was something missing from the offense tonight — Appleby and Williamson were just 9/24 from the field and the team could have used a quick three here or there. It’s clear that Forbes isn’t willing to sacrifice certain ideals just to get the talented Monsanto onto the floor, but this team is undoubtedly capable of more when he’s out there.
Tyree Appleby’s injury could be bad news
After App State took the lead on a corner three with 2.3 seconds left in the game, Tyree Appleby had to be helped off the court due to an injury. He appeared to be in a lot of pain, and Forbes said after the game that Appleby had injured his ankle on Monday and was playing through it. There has been no update on his status for Saturday’s game against Rutgers, but the team could be in trouble if he has to miss significant time — especially with conference matchups against Duke, UNC, and Virginia Tech looming. I think Forbes put it best after the game:
“Ty’s a big part of our team,” Forbes said. “He averages 19 points per game. We need him. He’s a tough kid, he’s resilient. He’s the heartbeat of our team, to be honest.”
Appleby has indeed been the heartbeat of the team. He leads the Deacs in scoring (19.1 ppg), assists (5.5 apg) and steals (1.6). He’s been instrumental in several of Wake’s key victories — his 32-point outing in Madison propelled the squad to victory over Wisconsin in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. But more than that, the team is simply better when he’s on the floor. The offense runs through him, and he’s by far the best on the team at creating open looks for his teammates. There will be some serious shuffling around to do if he has to sit out.
The Deacs’ next contest is set for Saturday at 12 p.m. in Piscataway against Rutgers.
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