Wake Forest edges Wisconsin in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Tyree Appleby scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half as visiting Wake Forest held off Wisconsin 78-75 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night in Madison.

Appleby converted a three-point play and Damari Monsanto hit a turnaround jumper from the lane to put Wake Forest in front 72-71 with 1:33 remaining.

Tyler Wahl hit two free throws for the Badgers, but Cameron Hildreth answered with a short jumper to make it 74-73 with 34 seconds left.

Wahl missed underneath and the rebound was tapped out of bounds to Wake Forest. After a Chucky Hepburn foul, Appleby hit both ends of the bonus to push the lead to 76-73 with 12.2 seconds left.

Wake Forest fouled rather than allow a 3-point attempt and Hepburn hit both free throws to make it 76-75. Hildreth's two free throws put the Demon Deacons up 78-75. Hepburn missed a deep, off-balance 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Appleby, a transfer from Florida, hit 11 of 16 shots, including 4 of 6 from deep. Hildreth added 15 and Monsanto 13 for Wake Forest (7-1), whose only loss was to Loyola Marymount 77-75 in overtime.

Hepburn led Wisconsin (5-2) with a career-high 23 points, including 6 of 12 beyond the arc. Wahl added 17 points and Steven Crowl 15.

Freshman Conner Essegian sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a trey by Crowl for a 9-0 run that put the Badgers up 57-52 with just over eight minutes left.

Wisconsin, which trailed 37-34 at the half, went in front 48-47 when Wahl scored underneath to cap a 10-2 run.

Wake Forest hit nine of its first 10 shots, but did not lead by more than six in the first half, despite Wisconsin going scoreless for more than 7 1/2 minutes.

Davion Bradford's jumper capped a 7-0 run that put the Demon Deacons up 28-23. Wisconsin, which had not scored since the 9:56 mark, finally snapped the drought when Isaac Lindsey hit a 3-pointer with 2:24 left.

Appleby's lay-in put Wake Forest up 37-31 with five seconds left, but Hepburn swished a 3-pointer from just beyond half court at the buzzer.