Wake Forest and Juke Harris Show Poise Down the Stretch to Beat Stanford
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Well, the Demon Deacons only led this game for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, but that ended up being enough to beat the Cardinal thanks to some Juke Harris late heroics. Let's take you through how this one went down.
First Half Highlights
Both teams started the game going back and forth offensively. It was Stanford that really threw the first punch. They went on an 11-0 run that forced Wake Forest to call a timeout at the 13:30 mark of the first half.
The Deacs then responded with a personal 5-0 run from Isaac Carr to bring it back to a three-point ballgame. From there, both teams traded strikes, but the score stayed close.
In the last four minutes, Stanford went on a 7-0 run to open up a nine-point halftime lead. A lot of this time courtesy of Benny Gealer, who made three three-pointers for Stanford in the first half.
Mekhi Mason had a nice half with seven points on 3/4 shooting. Juke Harris chipped in seven as well. Overall, though, it looked like the Deacs were sleepwalking through most of the first half. 30 points just is never going to be enough, especially when Stanford hits eight free-half threes.
Nothing but love 💝 pic.twitter.com/unPulMWwTZ
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) February 14, 2026
Second Half Highlights
The defensive intensity showed up much better to start the second half for the Deacs. They turned Stanford over on their first possession and held them to a shot-clock violation on the second. The offense slowly seemed to come back as well, and the Deacs were able to start cutting into the lead.
In a first half that only saw ten combined fouls, Wake tried to make getting into the paint more of a priority. This led to Stanford picking up more fouls and Wake going to the free-throw line more often. The Deacs entered the double bonus at the 7:35 mark of the second half.
For most of the half, the Deacs cut back into the deficit, but could not fully square the score. They got it down to just two points, but Stanford continued to maintain their advantage, courtesy in large part to Ebuka Okorie.
After the last media timeout, Wake found themselves down by five points and running out of time. That's when Juke Harris really took the game into his own hands. He finished the game on a personal 9-2 run to get the win for the Deacs. Good defense on Okorie helped seal the deal and finish the job. Execution was spot on in this one down the stretch.
Juke Harris finished with 25 points on 15 shots. Twelve of his points came at the free throw line. Mekhi Mason was the only other Deac in double figures with 10 points. Isaac Carr had a solid game, playing 31 minutes and finishing with six points and three assists. Stanford's talented freshman Ebuka Okorie finished with 26 points.
Next Up
Wake Forest will host Clemson this Wednesday at 7 pm. Let's see if they can continue to build on this winning streak.
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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.