Wake Forest Falls in a Heartbreaker to Rival North Carolina Despite Big Performances
In this story:
Well, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons fell in another heartbreaker, this time at the hands of the rival UNC Tar Heels. This outcome was despite Nate Calmese and Juke Harris both having career days. They had 28 points each and combined for 12 made threes. This was unfortunately outdone by North Carolina's frontcourt duo, which combined for 47 points and 21 rebounds while missing only two field goals. Let's break it all down.
1st Half Highlights
Wake Forest came out of the gates a step behind. North Carolina got a few easy baskets underneath after Wake went into a 1-3-1 zone to start. Four minutes into the game, North Carolina was up 14-4, and the Deacs had attempted just four shots to go along with five turnovers, pretty much as bad as it gets.
The Wake Forest offense got going right around the 13-minute mark of the first half. Nate Calmese splashed in a three-pointer, and Juke Harris tossed in two more to ignite a 9-0 run to cut into the deficit.
Caleb Wilson went on a little run of his own to counter the Deacs' attack. Wake Forest was held scoreless between the twelve-minute and eight-minute media timeouts. It seemed like the Deacs became a little too reliant on threes and were not generating enough looks at the rim.
The Demon Deacons then continued to find some better shooting luck and splash in some threes. The problem was that everything Wake did, the Tar Heels countered. Second-chance points were a big part of the story, as North Carolina got 13 second-chance points. When it was all said and done, Wake Forest was down 49-38 after one half of play.
Juke Harris led the way for Wake Forest with a sensational 16-point first half. He was outdone, though by UNC freshman Caleb Wilson, who had 17 points in the opening frame along with nine rebounds.
2nd Half Highlights
The Deacs scored two quick baskets to start the half, but Carolina quickly got hot with two Henri Veesaar three-pointers. Both Omaha Biliew and Tre'Von Spillers promptly picked up four fouls in the second half.
North Carolina went on a mini-run around the 11:30 mark. Jonathan Powell splashed in a three-pointer, and then Caleb Wilson got an easy bucket on the inside. This brought their lead up to 15 and forced Steve Forbes to burn a timeout.
Around the seven-minute mark, Nate Calmese hit two three-pointers to ignite a scoring run. The Deacs cut the UNC lead all the way down to just two points with 1:49 to play. The Deacs forced a turnover on Caleb Wilson, but Mekhi Mason turned it over on the other end. This then allowed the Tar Heels to extend their lead back to two possessions with a Henri Veesaar dunk.
Juke Harris got to the line on the two subsequent possessions. However, Wake was forced to start playing the foul game with around 30 seconds remaining. UNC's Seth Trimble made his first free throw before missing his second, but Juke Harris was unable to corral the rebound, which gave UNC a fresh shot clock. The Deacs did have a three-pointer to send it into overtime, but Nate Calmese could not put it in, and the Deacs fell by three. They have now lost three Quad 1 games by a combined four points, not a statistic you want to have. However, the potential is still there.
Game Stats - Wake Forest at North Carolina
Game Stats | Wake Forest (10-7, 1-3) | UNC (14-2, 2-1) |
|---|---|---|
FG | 31-64 (48.4%) | 29-55 (52.7%) |
3PT | 14-35 (40%) | 9-26 (34.6%) |
FT | 8-11 (72.7%) | 20-30 (66.7%) |
Rebounds (O/D) | 27 (10/17) | 35 (13/22) |
Assists | 13 | 20 |
Turnovers | 13 | 14 |
Steals | 9 | 10 |
Blocks | 0 | 2 |
What's Next?
The Deacs may have let this one slip through their fingers, but now they have a much-needed week off before traveling to Florida State next Saturday to take on the Seminoles. That game will also tip off at 6pm.
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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.