Hunter Sallis scored 29 points and his teammates came through with big late-game baskets as Wake Forest dumped No. 8 Duke 83-79 on Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sallis shot 11-for-13 from the field, making 5 of 6 3-point attempts. Andrew Carr scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, Kevin Miller posted 15 points and Cameron Hildreth added 12 points in front of the first sold-out crowd for a Wake Forest home game in seven years.
The Demon Deacons (18-9, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) held on as Duke’s late possession, with a chance to tie or go ahead, was doomed by a turnover in the waning seconds. Sallis bagged two free throws to clinch the outcome with 1.8 seconds prior to a court storming by thrilled fans.
Duke (21-6, 12-4) had a five-game winning streak snapped. Kyle Filipowski’s 17 points and Jeremy Roach’s 16 paced the Blue Devils, who got 15 from Jared McCain and 14 from Tyrese Proctor.
Consecutive treys from Carr and Hildreth pushed Wake Forest to a 73-69 lead with 4:20 to play. The Demon Deacons led the rest of the way en route to improving to 15-0 in home games this season.
McCain’s two free throws at the 1:37 mark trimmed Duke’s deficit to 79-76 and, after a Miller layup, Filipowski’s 3-pointer made it 81-79 with 43 seconds left before the final stretch.
Wake Forest took what was its largest lead of the game at 51-46 early in the second half by hitting its first six shots after the break. Duke responded with a 12-3 run.
Duke led 38-36 at halftime, with neither team leading by more than a six-point edge held by the Blue Devils in the opening half. Sallis made his first six shots from the field for 14 first-half points.
The teams met less than two weeks earlier, with Duke winning 77-69 at home.
–Field Level Media