Wake Forest Basketball Barely Survives Upset Scare

Well, this one was nearly disastrous for the Deacs. Let's get right into the highlights and show you how it went down.

First Half Highlights

It was a first half that consisted of very few highlights of note for Wake Forest. After one half of action, they found themselves mustering only 30 points and trailing by four to the Lancers, pretty much the polar opposite of how the first half went against Queens.

Nate Calmese helped get the scoring started early with two threes, but the Deacs only managed to hit two more threes the rest of the half. They were 33% from the field and 22% from three. The only saving grace was that they were 100% from the free-throw line. The offense looked disconnected and could not get into any sort of rhythm. Wake had seven turnovers in the half, compared to just five for the Lancers. Despite scoring eight points, Juke Harris had four of these turnovers for the Deacs and looked like he was trying to do too much at times.

Guys who were great in Wake's last outing got off to very slow starts tonight. Myles Colvin only had two first-half points, and Omaha Biliew had none. The Deacs got beat 18-12 in points-in-the-paint by Longwood. The defense would get solid traps at times, but would not finish the play and give up easy baskets underneath. Overall, the Deacs went into the second half looking to flip the script and turn the page on a poor first-half performance.

Second Half Highlights

Coming out of the locker room, the Deacs seemed to end the reliance on the three-point shot and look to get to the rim. Juke Harris got into the paint a few times for some easy baskets. He finished with a team-high 19 points. Nate Calmese followed along as he also got into the paint for some nice baskets at the rim. He finished with 12 points on an efficient 5-6 shooting. When he was out, Sebastian Akins provided a nice spark off the bench.

The offense still never really clicked, but Wake held the Lancers in check and got enough shots at the rim, despite not being efficient. Cooper Schwieger had a big dunk in the second half to help extend the Deacs' lead. They got the lead to 10 with under four minutes to go. Despite not making a single three to that point all half, it looked like it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way. However, this was far from the case.

Redd Thompson Jr. hit three three-point field goals for the Lancers inside the last four minutes. His third tied the game with 1:49 to play. This looked like it was headed towards an upset. Then, with 49 seconds to go, Myles Colvin broke the seal and hit the first Wake Forest three-pointer of the second half. It could not have come at a better time.

Omaha Biliew converted on a free throw to make it a four-point lead, and it again appeared the game was out of reach. But Longwood got to the line themselves, converted on one free throw, fouled Juke Harris, and he missed both shots. The Lancers were only down three with eight seconds left and had the ball. They got a very clean look but just could not knock it down, and the Deacs survived.

There really is no silver lining in this one. This was just a poor performance overall from the Deacs. They shot just 41% from the field and 21% from three. It has been a series of ups and downs for this team, but it is a win nonetheless. No more needs to be said, onto the next.

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