Wake Forest Falls at Home to a Blazing NC State Wolfpack
In this story:
Well, Wake Forest did have a lead in this game...when it was 2-0. After that, it was all Wolfpack as they cruised to a win here in Winston-Salem. Let's take you through the highlights.
1st Half Highlights
Both teams took on the identity of this weekend's weather and started ice cold from the field. At the first media timeout, the score was 3-2 in favor of NC State. Both teams had only made one field goal in the first four minutes.
NC State then jumped out to an 11-point lead thanks to four early made threes and a Wake Forest offense that was largely non-existent. This left Wake Forest playing from behind early. When it was all said and done, NC State scored 49 points in the first half. They shot 60% from three, making nine of them.
Most of the threes the Wolfpack got were uncontested, and many came from the corner. Derion Williams and Paul McNeil both had 14 points, making a combined six threes. The Wolfpack also had 13 points off of seven Wake Forest turnovers.
For the Deacs, Juke Harris led the way with 15 points on six made field goals. Omaha Biliew chipped in with seven points, and freshman Isaac Carr played some solid minutes, scoring five points in the opening frame.
Overall, though, the Deacs struggled offensively and conceded 49 points. They were down 18 after the opening frame, searching for answers to calm the Wolfpack's hot shooting display.
2nd Half Highlights
Wake Forest came out in the second half with more fire offensively. They were able to immediately chip away at NC State's advantage. The Wolfpack were making some difficult shots to stay in the driver's seat.
At the under-12 media timeout, Wake Forest had cut the deficit all the way down to just seven points. Juke Harris made a big three-pointer to help the cause. Unfortunately, the Demon Deacon charge ran out of gas after that, and NC State cruised the rest of the way.
Wake Forest shot 47% from the field and 35% from three. This was simply not enough to keep up with the Wolfpack's blazing 57% from three, which was higher than their field goal percentage, which was at 54%.
NC State also capitalized on Wake Forest mistakes, scoring 15 points off turnovers. They also scored 11 second-chance points and outrebounded the Deacs. The only positive for Wake Forest was that they did outscore NC State in the paint by a 30-28 margin.
Paul McNeil was the largest pain point for Wake Forest. He scored 28 points to lead the Wolfpack, including a blazing 6-8 from three-point range. He was outdone, though, by Juke Harris, who scored 31 points on 25 shots to lead Wake Forest.
Juke has scored in double figures every game this season for Wake Forest. He has scored 20 points or more in five of the Deacs' last seven games. Unfortunatley though, his scoring output has not come with team success. The Deacs are now on a four-game losing streak, and they have a week off before welcoming Louisville to the Joel next Saturday.
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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.