Justin Hill scored a team-high 21 points as Georgia upset top-seeded Wake Forest 72-66 in a second-round NIT game Sunday afternoon on the Demon Deacons’ home court in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Georgia (19-16), a No. 4 seed, will play Ohio State on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Ohio State was a 81-73 winner over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Wake Forest (21-14) were favorites to win the tournament after knocking out Appalachian State in the first round.
Andrew Carr scored a career-high 31 points and collected 11 rebounds for Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons were without their leading scorer, guard Hunter Sallis (18.0 points per game), who rolled his ankle coming off the floor after the win against Appalachian State.
The absence of the sure-handed Sallis was felt by Wake Forest, as Georgia outscored the Demon Demons 15-6 in points off turnovers and led by as many as 19 in the game.
The Bulldogs knocked down 14 of 27 from 3-point range and shot 43.1 percent overall.
Wake Forest mounted a late comeback, as Georgia went through a drought of seven minutes and 15 seconds without a field goal, cutting the lead to seven with 5:13 remaining at 61-54 on Andrew Carr’s jumper.
The Demon Deacons got to within 68-64 on a pair of Cameron Hildreth free throws with 45 seconds left, but Georgia hit its free throws down the stretch while running out the clock.
Kevin Miller scored 14 and Hildreth had 12 for the Demon Deacons, who shot 39.1 percent from the field and 3 of 22 from 3-point range.
For Georgia, Noah Thomasson scored 19 points and Dylan James had 14.
Sallis’ absence was apparent from the start, as Wake Forest trailed 39-24 at the half. The Demon Deacons shot just 29 percent (10 of 34) from the floor in the half, and 14 percent (2 of 14) from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Georgia shot a scorching 51.9 percent (14 of 27) in the half as Hill, Thomasson and James combined for 34 of the Bulldogs’ 39 first-half points.
Georgia is 4-1 against ACC teams this season, including a 80-77 victory over Wake Forest on Nov. 10.
–Field Level Media