Wake Forest suffered its fourth two-point loss of the season Tuesday night, falling 71-69 in heartbreaking fashion to Boston College on Senior Night. Wake’s senior guard duo of Tyree Appleby and Daivien Williamson dazzled, combining for 43 points on 16/28 shooting including seven made triples. Unfortunately, their heroics weren’t enough — after Appleby tied the game at 69 with 19 seconds to go, Makai Ashton-Langford nailed a tough lay-in to put the Eagles ahead for good.
“[Boston College] came in and I thought they were the more physical team, the tougher team, for 40 minutes,” Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes said. “It played out that way. Especially in the second half. I felt like we only had two guys really show up to play tonight, the seniors Daivien and Ty. That's very disappointing that we couldn't have a better effort from the rest of the team on a big night for us, when we need to win to get to play on Wednesday in the ACC tournament.”
Wake Forest had the upper hand going into halftime, holding a six-point lead after the first 20 minutes. In the second period, though, things fell apart on both ends of the floor. Boston College caught fire and embarked on a 27-3 run and led by as many as 16. Though Appleby and Williamson fought valiantly to even the score in the final moments, the disastrous stretch ultimately proved too costly to overcome.
“The second half was horrendous,” Forbes said. “I think they started the half 12/15 from the field. 19/28 from the field in the second half. That’s a lack of physicality and discipline. They didn’t run anything different. The last play of the game is not a disciplined defensive play. Very disappointed this late in the year for that kind of effort.”
The team’s offensive struggles persisted in Damari Monsanto’s second game on the sidelines. Outside of Appleby and Williamson, the rest of the Deacs went just 8/23 from the field. Monsanto’s absence was palpable — the group struggled to space the floor and create quality open looks. As a result, the offense stagnated in key moments.
“I thought our offense was really poor,” Forbes said. “Really the only way we scored was if we called the play or in transition. Too many guys holding the ball and not knowing what to do with it, then turning down open shots when they have them to make Ty or somebody else shoot a bad shot at the end of the shot clock. Some of that is a product of Damari not playing. He’s a player, he can move the ball, he can shoot it.”
As Forbes said, the loss is potentially costly for Wake’s seeding in the ACC Tournament — if they lose to Syracuse on Saturday, they’ll lose their first-round bye and have to play on Tuesday. More than that, though, it’s a poor send-off for the seniors in what could be their final game in the Joel.
“I feel bad for them,” Forbes said. “Those guys are competitive guys. Everyone will say, ‘you came back, you competed hard, it was a great game.’ No. We didn’t play the right way. We had guys out there with blank stares on their faces. Just made really uncharacteristic plays. I’m sure [Appleby and Williamson] are really hurting.”
Despite the grueling defeat, there’s no time for Forbes’ group to grovel or sulk. They now have the chance to play spoiler and topple the Orange on their Senior Night.
“You have to have a short memory,” Forbes said. “You have to have a next-play mentality, good and bad. You try to learn from your mistakes and you move on. We’ve done pretty good with that. I’m not gonna harp on that, we’ll watch film, we’ll learn from it.”
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