Key Stats from Wake Forest Basketball's 71-59 win over Fairfield
Free throws down the stretch
Fairfield committed their 10th team foul of the second half with over nine minutes remaining, giving Wake Forest ample opportunities to go to the free-throw line. Of the Deacs’ 39 free-throw attempts, 28 came after halftime. On those attempts, Tyree Appleby was a perfect 6-6 and Daivien Williamson went 5-6. Even big men Bobi Klintman and Davion Bradford each hit 3 of 4.
“I think it won the game,” head coach Steve Forbes said of the free throws down the stretch. “We were shooting the ball just ok, but we put pressure on them and they fouled us. That was the game — getting to the line. Then we had guys step up and make it.”
The turnover battle
Despite struggling to convert on shots for much of the game, Wake Forest did a great job taking care of the ball. The Deacs coughed it up just 10 times, four of which came on charge calls in the first half. Defensively, Forbes’ squad posted nine steals on their way to forcing 13 turnovers.
“Any time you can play a college basketball game and have 10 or less turnovers, you’ve done pretty well,” Forbes said. “It was a lot of possessions, so I’m pleased with 10. We had nine steals — that’s outstanding.”
READ: Wake Forest pulls away late, hangs on to beat Fairfield 71-59
Overcoming early fouls
Wake Forest did a really good job of bouncing back from early foul trouble — not a single player fouled out despite five having two fouls at halftime. Only one Demon Deacon — Cameron Hildreth, who has a knack for getting aggressive on the ball — reached four fouls. Caleb Fields, who had a team-high 14 points, fouled out for Fairfield, and key starters Jake Wojcik and Supreme Cook both had to take prolonged breaks after picking up their fourth fouls. Losing three starters to the bench was not conducive to competing, and it showed for Fairfield down the stretch.
Shooting struggles
When it came to shooting the ball, it was clear for both teams that this was their season opener. On their first 10 shots of the game, Fairfield connected on just one attempt, and Wake Forest wasn’t much better with three makes. In the first half, the Deacs could only manage 38.5% from the floor, with the Stags lagging behind at 30.8. The Deacs found more of a rhythm as the game went on, eclipsing 40% from the field in the second half. Add in a paltry 27% from behind the three-point line — Forbes’ group will be looking for better execution as the season gets into full swing.
Rebounds
Wake Forest outrebounded Fairfield 39-33 in the win, nabbing eight offensive boards. The Stags earned seven of their own on offense, but many of those came from long rebounds that bounced out to the perimeter. Especially when the shots weren’t going in, it was critical for Wake Forest to steal some extra possessions on the boards, which got them some points down the stretch
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Essex is the lead football writer and a managing editor for Deacons Daily. Essex served as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black for two years, in addition to roles as a beat and feature writer.