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December 31, 2025
Raleigh, NC– The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-5, 0-1) made the short trip up I-40 to take on Big 4 rival,the NC State Wolfpack, in the conference opener for both teams. Both teams entered conference play looking to enhance their tournament resumes with a key win to kick off ACC play. By the end of the game, the Wolfpack and their defense would continue their hot streak on defense by suffocating the Deacons offense at home.
The Wolfpack entered play holding a 152-110 series lead over the visiting Deacons. NC State, looking for their 3rd straight winning ACC opener, recently has ratcheted up the defensive intensity over their last 5. The Wolfpack have given up only 63.8 points per g ame over their last 5 games after giving up over 77 prior to their matchup against Auburn.
1st half: A Back and forth affair
Both teams came back from their time off showing the need to shake some rust off. The first 10 minutes of the half, both teams sought to seize control finding their offenses sluggish.
Each team would experience several ties and lead changes in the early going. The Wolfpack would push the lead to 34-24, the largest lead for either team with less than 4 minutes to go in the half. The Demon Deacons would respond with an 8-2 run to end the half and cut the lead to 4 at 36-32 heading to the Wolfpack.
Both teams were fairly even on the stat line with NC State finishing the half 12-28 shooting. The Deacs finished 10-25 shooting. The Wolfpack would control the paint winning both the rebounding edge and points in the paint. Each team had 11 turnovers and Wake Forest would lead the fast break points with 7.
2nd Half: The Pace Quickens
Both teams came out in the second half with seemingly more energy and the pace picked up as a result. The Wolfpack opened the half on an 11-4 run forcing the Deacons to take a timeout with 14:08 left in the game with the score 47-36.
The Deacons found themselves with 7 assists and 12 turnovers at the 13:39 mark. The Wolfpack defense which has been carrying them over their last 5 games, continued to suffocate the Deacon offense limiting them to 1 and done on that end of the floor. The Deacons shot just 4-20 from 3-point land up until 14 minutes left in the game.
With the Deacons finding it tough to score, the Wolfpack would push the lead to 15 at 52-47. The lead would be 13 with less than to play as Wake was forced to call another timeout. The Deacons were shooting just 30% from the field midway through the 2nd half. Finding the bottom of the basket tough would be an understatement for the Deacon offense.
The final 8 minutes of the game mirrored much of the first 32 minutes with Wake Forest struggling to find their shot. The Deacons would add 3 late 3’s to boost their percentage, but as Coach Forbes described in the Post-game Interview, “We just couldn’t finish at the rim. I felt like that was the difference in the game.
Wake Forest will return home on Saturday to host Virginia Tech. NC State also returns to action on Saturday hosting Virginia at 11 am.
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