Wake Forest puts up big numbers in exhibition win
Two preseason games of hot shooting don’t mean Wake Forest is going to light up every team when the season starts.
But it’s a good sign.
The Deacons poured in another 15 3-pointers in an 89-70 win at East Tennessee State on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall.
Mekhi Mason, a transfer guard from Washington, led Wake Forest in points (24) and 3-pointers (five). He shot 8-for-12 from the field, 5-for-9 beyond the arc.
“That’s a credit to all my teammates for getting me open,” Mason told Stan Cotten on Wake’s radio broadcast. “Shout out (new assistant coach) Nick (Friedman) for coming up and helping us with the offense.”
Tre’Von Spillers had a 17-point, 11-rebound effort. The senior started at center and had 11 points, nine rebounds in the second half; he made the only 3-pointer he took.
Juke Harris and Myles Colvin scored 15 points apiece, and both of them made 3 of 5 3-pointers. Nate Calmese, Wake’s point guard transfer from Washington State, had four points and 12 assists, with only three turnovers.
“So far, our shot profile has been elite. We’ll turn one down to get a better one,” coach Steve Forbes said on the post-game radio interview.
Wake Forest made 16 of 27 3-pointers against East Carolina in a closed-door scrimmage earlier this month. So, that’s a combined 31-for-60 (51.7%) in two preseason games.
Again: Preseason success doesn’t always translate. And the Deacons aren’t going to make half of their 3s this season.
But the improvement is significant, given the Deacons shot 28.5% last season — the worst long-range shooting season in program history.
Wake’s most wobbly moment came while it missed its last seven 3s of the first half. The Deacons led 29-14 after about 12 minutes, but ETSU scored 10 straight points to narrow things down.
Wake Forest was holding for the last shot of the first half with an eight-point lead when Calmese turned the ball over, leading to a dunk and a 36-30 score at halftime.
The Deacons scored the first eight points of the second half, six of those coming on 3s by Spillers and Omaha Biliew. Wake’s lead was never under 10 for the rest of the game.
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– Marqus Marion started in the frontcourt with Spillers. He had four rebounds in 10 minutes but was injured late in the half. The redshirt sophomore didn’t play in the second half.
“Marqus got jumped on,” Forbes said. “He’s hurt, I don’t know how bad. I didn’t think he could go in the second half. He wanted to but I didn’t let him.”
That’s significant, given Wake Forest was already without center Cooper Schwieger because of an ankle injury.
– Biliew started in the second half. He had nine points, eight of them after halftime, including a couple of 3-pointers.
– Wake Forest outrebounded ETSU 44-34, with Forbes noting he thought his team rebounded better than it had against ECU.
Aside from Spillers’ 11 rebounds, Colvin’s six rebounds were the most for the Deacons.
– Again, preseason games don’t mean it’s what we’ll see during the season. But Calmese’s 12-assist game, and Wake’s improved ball movement, makes one note relevant heading into the season: The last time a Deacon had double-digit assists in a game was Tyree Appleby, with 12, against Syracuse in the ACC tournament in 2023.
– The most points Mason scored in his one season with Washington was 23.
Colvin scored more than 15 points once in two seasons at Purdue. He had 20 against Mississippi in late November of last season.
