Key Stats from Wake Forest's 67-66 win over Appalachian State
With a buzzer-beating shot from Andrew Carr, Wake Forest defeated Appalachian State 67-66, avoiding an upset bid from their in-state opponents.
Read below for our key stats from the game.
The game had 15 lead changes
Wake Forest and App State had a back-and-forth affair all the way to the buzzer, trading the lead 15 times. The teams swapped the lead three times alone in the final minute, with App State turning the ball over with two seconds remaining and Wake hitting the game-winner.
Neither team held a strong advantage in time with the lead. The Deacs controlled the scoreboard for 24 of the 40 minutes.
App State shot 68% from the floor in the first half
To open the game, the Mountaineers came out firing on all cylinders, hitting 17 of their 25 shots. Additionally, they converted 50% of their threes, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the half to take a six-point lead. Forward Christopher Mantis was a perfect 4/4 from the field for 11 points, and made three three-pointers. Donovan Gregory added eight points on 66% shooting from the field.
Wake Forest didn’t necessarily shoot poorly, hitting 45.5% of their three-pointers, but App State’s prolific scoring stunned the home team and sent them to the half with a deficit.
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The Mountaineers then shot 40% in the second half
After a blistering first half shooting the ball, App State fell back to Earth, converting just 12 of their 30 attempts. Donovan, who had shot quite well in the first half, missed five of his seven attempts in the final 20 minutes. The Mountaineers also made just 22% of their three-point shots, with guard Terrance Harcum only converting on one of four.
Wake Forest registered 12 offensive rebounds
Though the Deacs only won the overall rebound battle by two (33 to 31), they owned the Mountaineers on the offensive glass. Eight of the team’s 12 offensive rebounds came in the second half, including two on one possession, which led to Tyree Appleby being fouled on a three-point attempt. Wake Forest taking control of the boards allowed them to add 18 second-chance points.
Wake Forest only converted 6-21 layups
While looking good on the offensive glass, Wake Forest was not up to par driving to the basket, only hitting 28.5% of their layups. That led to some ugly shooting lines for two of the team’s guards — Appleby with 5-14 and Williamson 4-13.
Andrew Carr scored 20 points
After combining for just 12 points against Wisconsin, Clemson and LSU, Carr notched a season-high 20 points, including the all important final two, in the thrilling victory. Carr shot 8-14 from the field, including 3-5 from three. Other than his game-winning shot, the Delaware transfer found most of his success in the first half, scoring 14 points and hitting all of his attempts from behind the arc. Leading into halftime, Carr had accounted for 45% of Wake Forest’s points.
AC FOR THE WIN‼️@apc_andrew #GoDeacs 🎩🏀 pic.twitter.com/mHCqI5fLlq
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) December 15, 2022
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Cameron Hildreth notched his seventh-straight double-digit game
Shooting five of 11 from the field for 10 points, Hildreth hit the double-digit mark for the seventh-straight game. He also contributed on the boards, tying a team-high six rebounds and adding three assists.
Wake Forest only had five points off the bench
After having a combined 43 bench points in the last two games, 62 of Wake Forest’s 67 points came from their starters. Damari Monsanto — known for his threes off the bench but had started several games this season — did not play at all. Neither did former starter Zach Keller.
Only four players came off the bench for Wake Forest — Bobi Klintman, Davion Bradford, Lucas Taylor and Jao Ituka — with Klintman being the only player with double-digit minutes. Bradford added seven minutes, Ituka six and four from Taylor. The four bench players combined for 1-5 shooting from the floor, scoring three points from the free-throw line.
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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.