Tyree Appleby poured in 23 points just a few days after hitting a game-winning shot as Wake Forest defeated La Salle 75-63 on Friday afternoon on the opening day of the Jamaica Classic in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Appleby, whose buzzer 3-pointer beat Utah Valley on Tuesday night, went 8 for 14 from the floor, though he was just 2 for 7 on 3s.
Damari Monsanto came off the Wake Forest bench to hit four 3-pointers on the way to 14 points. Zach Keller had 11 points and Andrew Carr added 10 points for the Demon Deacons (4-0).
Appleby also had four assists, while Cameron Hildreth joined Monsanto and Keller in bench production with nine points and four assists.
All this helped offset Josh Nickelberry’s 24 points for La Salle (2-2). Fousseyni Drame had eight points and nine rebounds.
The Explorers were hurt by 16 turnovers and a declining shooting rate that ended at 39.6 percent.
Wake Forest will meet the Georgetown-Loyola Marymount winner in Sunday’s final, while La Salle takes on the loser of that second game in a consolation match.
The Demon Deacons went from a slow start to a comfortable victory in their first game away from home.
Wake Forest went from eight down to a 32-26 lead across an 11-minute period of the first half. The Demon Deacons were buoyed by a stretch of 12-for-12 shooting from the field.
Wake Forest held a 35-33 halftime lead, shooting 48.4 percent in the first half despite the sizzling stretch. The Demon Deacons were 3 for 19 outside of the dozen perfect shots.
Nickelberry posted 18 of La Salle’s first 30 points, going 6 for 8 on 3-pointers. He missed all three long-range attempts in the second half.
Wake Forest pushed its lead to 53-45 on Monsanto’s 3-pointer with 11:45 to play. Another 3 from Monsanto made it 59-49.
This was only the third meeting between La Salle and Wake Forest. They last played in December 1973, with Wake Forest winning.
–Field Level Media