Key Stats from Wake Forest's 77-75 loss to Loyola-Marymount
After leading 65-57 with two minutes remaining, Wake Forest allowed an 8-0 run from the Lions to take the game from overtime. Then, a missed layup at the buzzer gave the Deacons their first loss of the season.
Read below for the key stats from the game.
Free throws, not so free points
Wake Forest missed seven of their 19 free throws in the loss. Tyree Appleby, who was perfect from the line two days ago, went six for nine. Matthew Marsh missed three of his five shots. While none of those free throw errors came down the stretch, they are still critical. Seven extra points would’ve gone a long way for the Deacs.
READ: Three Stars from Wake Forest's 45-35 win over Syracuse
Live by the run, die by the run
For better or worse, scoring streaks have been a theme of Wake Forest’s young season. To open the game, the Deacs came out hot with a 9-0 run, making it seem like they would quickly put distance between themselves and Loyola-Marymount. But then, the Lions went on 7-0, 8-0 and 5-0 runs to close the half, at one point taking a 10-point lead.
In the second half, a fantastic 7-0 stretch with minutes remaining had Wake Forest in position to close out the victory, but an inexcusable eight-straight points from the Lions sent the game to overtime. After sinking several threes throughout the game, the Lions hit an additional two in the final 1:30.
Scoring streaks are fine, they’re a part of a basketball game. But giving up the 8-0 run at the end of the game, when a win is in sight, is brutal. Wake Forest turned the ball over twice during that stretch. Instead of closing the game out, they let the Lions back in, and lost as a result.
Protecting the ball
Speaking of turnovers, Wake Forest gave up 18 in the loss. Of Loyola-Marymount’s 77 points, 23 came after taking the ball away from the Deacs. In the second half, 27% of Wake’s possessions ended in a turnover. This all goes to show that playing disciplined offense is critical. Wake Forest is usually very good at protecting the ball on offense, but in the loss, it was their downfall.
Sunk by threes
Going into the game, the scouting report on Loyola-Marymount was that they could hit the shots from deep. And they did 13 times. Some of those made shots were heat checks that are understandable, but in the final minutes, Wake Forest did not do enough to eliminate the Lions’ best source of offense.
READ: Five Takeaways from Wake Forest's 45-35 win over Syracuse
As mentioned before, Loyola-Marymount hit two threes in the final 1:30 to force overtime. Then, in extra time, the Lions’ final three field goals all came from deep. In a key period like overtime, it’s arguable that the three-point line should be defended even harder. A three hurts far more than a two at that critical juncture. Instead, Wake Forest allowed Loyola to shoot their way to victory.
Matthew Marsh made his claim for the 5
Other than the missed layup in overtime, Marsh was very good for Wake Forest. He made six of his seven field goals and brought a big presence to the paint with six rebounds. In a season where one player would make a play for the starting center role, then another would do so the next game, it was Marsh’s turn in the loss. Starter Zach Keller played 12 minutes, while Davion Bradford didn’t see any action. Marsh, on the other hand, was on the court for 27 minutes after only playing nine all season.
Follow @DeaconsDaily on Twitter and Instagram for more Wake Forest content
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.