Wake Forest Second Half Struggles Plague Them in Loss to NC State

The Demon Deacons fall in Raleigh in their first game of ACC Action

Dec 2, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Tre'Von Spillers (25) runs back up court against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Demon Deacons fell in a Big Four Rivalry game just before the new year begins. Let's go ahead and walk you through what happened.

First Half Highlights

Both of these teams had over a week-long break for the holiday season, and it showed in the first half. Wake and NC State combined for a staggering 22 total turnovers in the opening frame. The Deacs jumped out to the early lead thanks to yet another highlight dunk from Myles Colvin. NC State was very sluggish offensively out of the gate, but then the turnover bug quickly transferred to the Deacs.

NC State continued to expand a lead in the first half, eventually getting it to 10 points by the 2:20 mark. This was due in large part to Quadir Copeland. He had 10 points, three assists, and two steals after one half. Paul McNeil Jr. had 11 points, making two threes. The Deacs kept Darrion Williams in check nicely, holding him to just five.

Copeland had to go to the bench for foul trouble with under four minutes to play. This helped allow the Deacs to go on a solid run to cut the Wolfpack's lead to just four going into the half. Omaha Biliew helped lead the charge with 11 in the first half, and Juke Harris joined him at that same mark. When it was all said and done, it was a very sloppy first half, but Wake Forest went into halftime with the momentum.

Second Half Highlights

If you thought the second half start against Vanderbilt was bad, this was just about equally as bad for Wake Forest. The Wolfpack went on a quick 7-0 run to start the second half, and the game was never close again after that. To show how serious the offensive struggles were, Wake Forest only scored 13 points at the four-minute mark of the second half.

Wake Forest was 10-25 for total field goals in the second half. They also shot just 29% from beyond the arc. NC State outscored the Deacs 19-5 in bench points. No one outside of Juke Harris, Omaha Biliew, and Myles Colvin could do anything offensively. That trio combined for 48 of Wake's 57 total points. Omaha had the first double-double of his Wake Forest career with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Copeland led the Wolfpack in scoring with 14.

When it was all said and done, NC State outscored Wake Forest by nine in the second half to cruise to victory. A lot of the struggles that plagued the Deacs against Vanderbilt manifested again in this one. The only reason it was closer was that NC State did not shoot nearly as well from three as Vandy did. We knew this one would be an uphill battle, but still a very unwhelming performance for the Deacs. They have work to do before going up against Virginia Tech on Saturday.