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Wake Forest Holds on to Beat Eagles
Wake Forest held on to beat the Morehead State Eagles by a final score of 81-65 on Friday night behind an incredible 29 point performance from superstar Juke Harris. Harris was 10/15 from the field with 9 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals, a block, and 5 turnovers. This also included 3 of 5 from beyond the arc for Harris. Tre’von Spillers had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. The Demon Deacons also got a big performance from Sebastian Akins off the bench with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers.
A Glass Cannon
Wake Forest combined for 15 assists, 11 steals, and 6 blocks for a stout defensive performance. The Demon Deacons shot a respectable 40 percent from the field, but only shot 29.2 percent from three on 7 of 24 shooting. Wake Forest also added another 18 points off of free throws on 18 of 30 shooting. Off the bench, the Deacs only got 10 points from players other than Atkins. Defensively, the Deacs held the Eagles to a paltry 34.9 percent from the field on 22-63 shooting. They also stifled the Eagles from beyond the arc, allowing only 22.6 percent shooting from three.
The Problem
Unfortunately, the good news ends there. The Deacs only shot 29.2 percent from three as a team, well below the 32 percent mark needed to stay competitive in power conference games. Only three players scored in double figures, with the next highest single-player point total being only 7. Wake committed 19 combined turnovers, 11 of which came from the starting five. There were far too many self-inflicted mistakes that kept this game within reach for the Morehead State Eagles.
Moving Forward
Having only 3 players be major contributors on offense is not sustainable long term. The ACC is the most difficult league in college basketball and the Demon Deacons will need more performance as a team if they want to see any success. The players coming off the bench need to be more involved in scoring efforts, and there just needs to be more spread out scoring in general. Up next, Wake Forest goes to Ann Arbor to take on the #7 Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday at 6:30.
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