Wake Forest Goes on Second-Half Surge to Finish Regular Season Victorious
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Wake Forest completed a successful senior day with a victory over the Cal Golden Bears, who were on the bubble coming into the matchup. This one started slow for the Deacs, but got hot in the second half. Let's go through the highlights.
1st Half Highlights
The Demon Deacons were in a Senior Day slump throughout the first half, putting it generously. Wake made just six field goals in the first half while shooting an abysmal 24% from the field. They never lead the entire half.
Juke Harris did his best to get the team going offensively. He had ten points while shooting 3-9 from the field and 4-6 at the free throw line. Omaha Biliew also went a perfect 6-6 at the free-throw line in the opening frame. Free throws were what kept the Deacs in the game for much of this first half.
On the bright side, Cal was not exactly lighting it up themselves on the offensive end. They shot just 39% from the floor and 27% from three in the first half. Like the Deacs, the Golden Bears did their damage at the free-throw line. They went 12-13 on free throws in the first half.
When it was all said and done, the Deacs trailed 37-29 going into the half. The first half of play was as messy as it could have been, but given those circumstances, they were likely fortunate to find themselves down eight with only six made field goals in the half.
2nd Half Highlights
Despite their offensive struggles in the first half, the Deacs came out with greater intensity on both ends of the floor. Juke Harris was outstanding and got the offense going with two deep threes, which forced Cal to call a timeout before the first media.
At the 13:39 mark in the second half, the Deacs took their first lead of the game thanks to a Juke Harris layup. In what could be his final game at the Joel, Juke was outstanding, finishing with 31 points and an impressive 15 rebounds. The Deacs dominated on the boards all night, winning on a 45-29 margin.
What really helped the Deacs hit their stride was the play of Mekhi Mason in the second half. He hit two huge threes in the frame and finished with 10 points on senior day. Wake was able to grow a lead out to 13. That dwindled all the way down to one, but the Deacs showed poise down the stretch to finish it out.
What's Next?
This senior day victory gives the Deacs good momentum going into the ACC Tournament this coming week. Their first game will be on Tuesday against Virginia Tech in Charlotte. The game will tip at 7 pm and can be seen on the ACC Network.
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.