Deacons fall in OT against Michigan
Wake Forest had a shot at the game-winner. And then even got a tip when that missed.
That didn’t go in either, as No. 6 Michigan beat Wake Forest 85-84 in overtime on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
“The last play we had some options,” coach Steve Forbes said via news release. “We threw it to Myles (Colvin). Myles kind of ripped it and got it to Nate (Calmese). He drove it and he got a pretty good look. I thought it looked like it was going to go. I think (Michigan’s Aday) Mara probably changed it.”
It was a knife twist in which Wake Forest (2-1) led 77-70 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Michigan (2-0) scored the next eight points — five of those at the free-throw line — before Colvin drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau, a UNC transfer, made a driving layup after an offensive rebound to tie the game at 80-80 in the final minute of regulation. The Deacons bled the clock down and then committed a turnover, sending the game to OT.
The teams traded a couple of buckets in the extra frame. Cooper Schwieger tied the game at 84-84 with 1:54 left. But Schwieger fouled Cadeau with 13 seconds left, and he made one free throw for what was the decisive point.
He missed the second free throw and Wake Forest pushed the ball ahead. But Colvin stopped and called a timeout with 6 seconds remaining. The in-bound went to Colvin, who gave it to Calmese, who drove and took a high-arching shot over Mara — Michigan’s 7-footer who altered and blocked shots all night.
“We’ve had a good series. We beat them by two in Greensboro, and they beat us by one in overtime,” Forbes said. “It’s hard to believe, going back to last year, that we finished fourth in the ACC and beat the Big 10 tournament champs, and we didn’t make the tournament.
“It’s crazy to me, this world that we live in, but it is what it is. Hopefully we can learn from this.”
The second half, before Wake Forest lost the lead, was all Deacons. Michigan held a 13-point lead at halftime.
Wake Forest got things going with Juke Harris providing the spark early in the second half. The Deacons kept surging despite Harris going to the bench with his fourth foul.
Calmese scored eight of his 11 points in the second half; Mekhi Mason scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half.
Mason hit a step-back 3-pointer to give Wake Forest a 24-22 lead with 7½ minutes left in the first half.
But from there, Michigan outscored Wake Forest 25-10 for the rest of the half. Fourteen of those 25 points came at the free-throw line. The Deacons were whistled for 16 fouls in the first half; Michigan was called for five.
TIP-INS …
– Harris finished with 19 points. In his first three games, with point totals of 18 and 29 last week, the sophomore wing has scored above his season high as a freshman (17) in all three games.
– Wake Forest started the game making 5 of 12 3-pointers. But the Deacons made five of their last 22.
Through three games, Wake Forest is 24-for-83 (28.9%) from behind the arc.
– Mara led Michigan with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks. The 7-3, 255-pounder is a transfer from UCLA, where he spent two seasons.
He never had more than three assists in 60 games at UCLA. His rebounds are a career high and his blocks tied a career-high.
– Wake Forest committed 13 turnovers. It was more the situation some of them were committed than the volume that hurt the Deacons.
Three turnovers occurred after Wake Forest led 77-70.
Did you enjoy this story? If so, subscribe to Deacons Illustrated to read *every* in-depth, objective, substantive story. Click here, subscribe, and stop missing out!
