Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest too strong for Louisville

Jan 9, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forwards Marqus Marion (1), Efton Reid III (4), and Andrew Carr (11) react during the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Hunter Sallis scored 19 points and Andrew Carr added 18 to fuel Wake Forest to a 90-65 win over Louisville on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Sallis made five of the Demon Deacons’ season-high 18 3-pointers.

Damari Monsanto converted four times from beyond the arc while playing in his first game since suffering a torn patella tendon on Feb. 22.

Wake Forest (13-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won 12 of its last 14 games overall and improved to 11-0 at home this season.

Tre White had 17 points, Mike James added 16 and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 12 for the Cardinals, who fell to 6-12 overall and 1-6 in the ACC.

Louisville enjoyed a 36-18 advantage on points in the paint, but it didn’t matter as Wake Forest’s 3-point gunnery was too much to overcome. The Demon Deacons hit 51.4 percent of their 3-point attempts (18 of 35).

Wake Forest made more than 10 3-pointers in a game for the sixth time this season. It surpassed its previous season-best total of 12 against Miami on Jan. 6.

The Demon Deacons pushed their lead to 20 at 66-46 with 13:09 left to play on a rare layup by Cameron Hildreth. Louisville couldn’t find a way to get back in the game.

Efton Reid III and Kevin Miller scored 11 apiece and Parker Friedrichsen scored nine on three first-half 3-pointers for the Demon Deacons.

Wake Forest came out in the first half distributing the ball crisply, often finding open 3-point shooters who got open off of screens.

The Demon Deacons shot a blistering 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from behind the arc, all but two of those threes coming after assists from teammates. Despite all that ball movement, Wake Forest only turned the ball over once in the half.

Meanwhile Louisville missed all three of its 3-point attempts, as Wake Forest cruised out to a 48-33 halftime lead.

Louisville’s series lead between the two schools fell to 9-5.

–Field Level Media

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