Deacons take down Mountaineers, thrive on defense
Wake Forest took down West Virginia by a score of 75-66 in the Holiday Hoopfest.
The Deacons (7-3) were led by Juke Harris who only played seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Harris took that personally, he finished the night with 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting and also saw 7 of 12 shots go in from behind the arc.
The Deacons’ defense stood tall all night long. They forced 17 turnovers and it let to 25 points. Myles Colvin and Nate Calmese led the team with 4 steals a piece.
Tre’Von Spillers also crammed the stat sheet on Saturday evening. He finished the night with 16 points (8-for-13 shooting), four rebounds and three blocks. The Deacons needed their big time players to step up on the road and that’s exactly what they got.
Calmese only finished the game with four points but his contribution in the assist category won’t go unnoticed. He finished the night with nine dimes.
The Mountaineers came in as one of the top defensive teams in the country allowing just 56.6% points per game. The Deacons eclipsed that number by 19 points.
The Deacons allowed the Moutaineers to just shoot 21-for-52 (40.4%). The Deacons also just allowed them to shoot 6-for-27 from deep.
The Mountaineers (7-3) tried to get the crowd back into the game after they trailed by double-digits midway through the second half, but that didn’t last.
As WVU’s Honor Huff made his first three-pointer of the second half to ignite a run, but Harris didn’t let that last long. He went down and hit a three of his own. They traded baskets then the Deacons went on a 6-0 run.
Coach Steve Forbes’ group then held off the Mountaineers the rest of the way as they captured a huge road win.
The Deacons are back in action next Sunday on December 14th as they take on Queens at Joel Coliseum.
