Wake Forest Basketball pulls away in second half for 75-63 win over La Salle
Wake Forest earned the right to play in the championship of the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic, defeating La Salle 75-63. Florida transfer Tyree Appleby led the team with 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting.
“Ty’s a little energizer out there,” head coach Steve Forbes said after the game.
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“I think he’s the most important,” Forbes continued when asked about his impact on the Wake Forest offense. “I thought [the team] had great energy. How [Appleby and Daiven Williamson] handled the huddle and how they handled the court communication wise, we had high level togetherness today. There was a lot of energy in the building that had a lot to do with those guys.”
Know y'all heard the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' on that one❗️@Lil_App04 🍎#JamaicaClassic | #GoDeacs 🎩🏀 pic.twitter.com/PJSgdnWqjE
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) November 18, 2022
Similar to their start against Utah Valley, the Deacs came out of the gates slowly, missing six of their first seven shots and allowing the Explorers to jump out to a 10-2 lead. The defense, which forced 16 turnovers, kept Wake Forest in the game.
“I began to wonder if we were gonna set the record for the least amount of points scored in a half at Wake Forest University,” Forbes said. “I'm not really excited about that. But, I liked the way we were playing defense. It got contagious. The team started feeling better about themselves and kept getting stops.”
La Salle was able to jump out to a lead, and continue to pressure the Deacs, behind the shooting of Josh Nickleberry. The guard hit five of his six three-point shots in the first half, which broke down an otherwise stout Wake Forest defense.
Once the Deacs began to hit their shots, though, they found their footing. Midway through the first half, Wake Forest made 12-straight buckets from the floor, allowing them to go on an 11-0 run and take their first lead of the game.
The first half stretch was kickstarted by redshirt junior Damari Monsanto, who hit two three-pointers. Along with his good defense — he had five rebounds, second-most on the team — Monsanto hit four three-pointers and a brilliant layup on a reverse. After playing just 26 minutes in the first three games of the season, Monsanto saw 20 against La Salle. Combine that with his improved scoring, and he might just be playing his way back into Steve Forbes’ lineup.
The hang time though 🧐@31damari pic.twitter.com/XjrIioyRWv
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) November 18, 2022
“I thought he was the best [defender] we had on Nickleberry,” Forbes said. “I thought Damari was great defensively. I'm really proud of Damari, fighting through a little adversity early on [in the season]. I'm his biggest fan. Hopefully this will get him going.”
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Another key to combating Nickleberry’s three-point show was the Deacs’ ability to score in the paint. For the majority of the game, Wake Forest thrived on drives and passes to the inside, notching 40 points from under the bucket. In contrast, La Salle had 16.
Sophomore Cameron Hildreth also made an impact for Wake Forest. After coming off the bench at the 17:18 mark in the first half, Hildreth made his mark with gritty defense and ball movement on offense. Along with scoring nine points, the sophomore contributed four assists and three rebounds. Despite his four fouls, all of which came in the second half, Hildreth notched 27 minutes, the fourth-most on the team.
“Cam got us going in the first half,” Forbes said. “I thought [he] gave us a great lift off the bench.”
After starting Kansas State transfer Davion Bradford at center for the fourth time this season, Zach Keller hit the floor and earned the opportunity to keep playing. Keller scored 11 points, including two critical three-pointers that helped Wake Forest widen their lead. He also held La Salle’s 5, Fousseyni Drame, to just four points in the second half — Keller played the final 13 minutes of the game.
He's a Freshman 😬@ZachKeller19 #JamaicaClassic | #GoDeacs 🎩🏀 pic.twitter.com/Q3QUsoXL9T
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) November 18, 2022
While there is a strong notion of who Wake Forest’s go-to players are at most spots on the court, the 5 has been one place of uncertainty. At a position where Forbes has noted he is looking for “separation,” Keller may have just done that today. The freshman saw 24 minutes of action, whereas main competitors Bradford and Matthew Marsh saw four and zero respectively.
“It depends on the opponent,” Forbes said. “La Salle wasn’t very big, they were more of a driving team. Zach’s more mobile, he can really guard that pick and roll. And he gave us 11 points. When he does that, that’s pretty good.”
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Along with more playing time for Keller at the 5, Hildreth, Monsanto and freshman Bobi Klintman saw significant minutes that signal a look at a starting role. For the first time this season, Forbes did not start the second half with his first-half starters either, electing to play Hildreth and Klintman instead of sophomore Lucas Taylor and Bradford. Despite being in the starting lineup, Taylor and Bradford only combined for seven minutes, and neither saw time in the second half.
“It's something I'll definitely consider,” Forbes said about changing the starting five. “I'm not married to any sort of lineup. I thought the lineup we started in the second half gave us a better chance. Nothing against those other guys, I just thought those are the guys that kind of run the court most of the half anyway.”
With a 40-30 score differential in the second half, including a 9-0 run at the eight-minute mark, Wake Forest was able to close the game to a comfortable win. Now, they await the winner of Georgetown and Loyola-Marymount for an chance to return to Winston-Salem with early-season silverware.
Tip off is set for 2:30 ET Sunday on CBS Sports Network.
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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.