Kevin Miller scored 17 points and Wake Forest was in control for most of the game in defeating Notre Dame 72-59 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament’s second round Wednesday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Hunter Sallis added 14 points, and Andrew Carr provided 12 points and 11 rebounds. Cameron Hildreth notched 10 points as the Demon Deacons avenged a loss from two weeks ago for a crucial outcome in trying to brush up their credentials for NCAA Tournament consideration.
Fifth-seeded Wake Forest (20-12), which led by as many as 16 points, meets fourth-seeded Pitt (21-10) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The teams split two regular-season games.
Markus Burton, the ACC Rookie of the Year, pumped in 21 points but shot 4-for-16 from the field for 12 seed Notre Dame (13-20). Tae Davis had 16 points and Casey Booth finished with 11 points for the Irish.
The Demon Deacons pushed their lead to 56-43 in the first nine minutes of the second half. Within the next minute, Burton picked up his fourth foul.
The Irish had 21 of their first 53 points on free throws and finished 25-for-28 at the foul line. Burton went 12-for-12.
Wake Forest finished 13-for-20 on foul shots. Wake Forest, however, outscored Notre Dame 38-14 on points in the paint.
Wake Forest went up 23-9 on Miller’s three-point play against a Notre Dame team that was pushed a day earlier before repelling Georgia Tech.
Notre Dame’s Braeden Shrewsberry, who had 23 points in the opening round, was limited to 1-for-9 shooting and five points.
Midway through the first half, Notre Dame had just five field goals — with four of those 3-pointers — with Booth hitting a couple to prevent a complete runaway by the Demon Deacons. The Irish’s first-half total was six 3s out of nine total field goals.
Wake Forest’s halftime lead was 40-34, with eight Demon Deacons in the scoring column. Carr had nine first-half rebounds.
–Field Level Media