Wake Forest defeats Hampton 97-70
Wake Forest cruised past Hampton at home on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Pirates 97-70. Daivien Williamson was held out again due to a lingering back injury, but the Deacs still put on a clinic on the offensive end, shooting 54% from the field and 50% from deep. Cameron Hildreth wrote his name in the Demon Deacon record books, finishing with 14 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds en route to the the third triple-double in Wake Forest history. Four of the five Wake Forest starters reached double figures in the dominant home win.
"It's really awesome and it's a great achievement, but I couldn't have done it without my teammates," Hildreth said of his performance after the game.
"I like how we played," Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes added. "Cam had a really special performance. That's a very special accomplishment and I'm very proud of him."
Damari Monsanto lit it up from deep in his second start of the year, leading all scorers with 20 points on 6/9 three-point shooting. He’s now scored 36 points on 13/22 shooting over his last two games.
Tyree Appleby was incredibly efficient, scoring 17 points on 7/8 shooting and 3/3 behind the arc.
The Deacs went on a 20-0 run early in the game and never looked back, taking a 29-point lead into halftime. They were able to coast and maintain the lead in the second half on the way to their sixth win of the season. Steve Forbes’ group wreaked havoc on the defensive end, forcing 17 Hampton turnovers (including 10 steals) that turned into 25 points for the Deacs. Wake controlled the boards as well, finishing with 38 total rebounds (11 offensive) compared to Hampton’s 29.
Hampton knocked down 43% of their three-pointers but shot just 38% from the field. Marquis Goodwin led the way for the Pirates, finishing with 18 points on 6/7 from deep in the loss. The visitors struggled to create open looks inside, finishing with just eight points in the paint.
The Deacs travel to Madison next to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Tipoff is set for Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
Ben is a managing editor and lead contributing writer for Deacons Daily. Ben has a year of experience as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black, and a year of experience as the publication’s print managing editor. He has a journalistic profile of over 40 published news and sports pieces for the Dayton Daily News.