The Wake Forest Demon Deacons to face the Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum Center. In the end, it was Wake Forest that came out on top, with a final score of 80-72.
Both teams started off strong, with the score tied at 14-14 midway through the first quarter. However, Wake Forest began to pull away in the second quarter, building a 22-point lead thanks to a strong shooting performance. The Demon Deacons finished the game shooting 52.7% from the field, including a 40.6% clip from beyond the arc. Louisville fought back in the second half, but ultimately couldn’t close the gap, falling to Wake Forest by 8 points.
Leading the way for the Demon Deacons was Damari Monsanto, who scored 21 points on the night. Cameron Hildreth also had a strong outing, finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Tyree Appleby contributed 13 points and a team-high 8 assists, while Daivien Williamson added 13 points of his own. The Demon Deacons also got strong contributions from their bench, with 16 points coming from non-starters.
For Louisville, Mike James had a standout performance, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 8 rebounds. El Ellis also had a strong outing, scoring 20 points and dishing out 8 assists. Jae’Lyn Withers contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds, while JJ Traynor added 7 points and 7 rebounds.
In terms of efficiency, Cameron Hildreth led the way for Wake Forest with a rating of 25.0. Damari Monsanto had a rating of 17.0, while Tyree Appleby finished with a rating of 16.0. For Louisville, Mike James led the way with a rating of 22.0, followed by El Ellis with a rating of 21.0.
Both teams had strong performances on the boards, with Wake Forest finishing with 31 rebounds and Louisville finishing with 36. However, the Demon Deacons were able to take advantage of their opportunities on the offensive end, pulling down 8 offensive rebounds to Louisville’s 15. Wake Forest’s defense was also strong, recording 3 steals and 1 block in the game.
Despite the loss, Louisville had a number of standout performances. The Cardinals scored 34 points in the paint and had 16 second chance points, thanks in part to their 15 offensive rebounds. They also had a solid shooting night from the free throw line, hitting 55.0% of their attempts.
