Strong Second Half Lifts Wake Forest Past JMU

Tuesday, December 17

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

6-5,0-0Sun Belt

Wake Forest

9-3,1-0ACC

James Madison

Wake Forest

Photo by: Wake Forest Athletics

12/17/2024 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis notched game-highs in points (27) and rebounds (12) to lead the Demon Deacons past James Madison, 75-58, on Tuesday evening inside LJVM Coliseum in non-conference men's basketball action.

Despite trailing JMU (6-5) by as many as eight in the first half, Wake Forest (9-3) retook a lead early in the second half and pulled away from the Dukes with a 13-0 run, finishing 53.1 percent from the floor in the second stanza. The Demon Deacons outrebounded the Dukes 41-28 and corralled 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points.

Mark Freeman scored 14 points to lead all Dukes, while Luke Anderson tallied a season-high 11 points – all in the second half. Elijah Hutchins-Everett scored 10 points despite playing just 20 minutes.

Cameron Hildreth finished with 18 points at an efficient 5-for-8 shooting, while Davin Cosby Jr. chipped in with 13 points for Wake Forest.

How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 32, Wake Forest 31

JMU connected their first five of seven shots to lead 11-5 at the 16:16 mark of the first.
Wake then responded with a 9-3 run, making four straight field goals to trim the Dukes' lead to 14-13 with 13:31 left.
Following Wake Forest's run, a Justin Taylor layup on the fastbreak ended a three-minute scoring drought and led to seven straight points as JMU grabbed its biggest lead of the game, 21-13, with 10:55 remaining.
The Deacs outscored JMU 16-11 in the last ten minutes of the first, as the Dukes suffered another three-minute scoring drought and saw their lead cut to one at the half, 32-31.

Second Half: Wake Forest 44, James Madison 26

A pair of foul shots gave Wake a 33-32 advantage, its first lead since early in the first half of the game at 33-32. Mark Freeman responded with a three-pointer on the next possession to retake a 35-33 lead as the squads traded baskets.
Forest held a slim 39-38 lead with 16:05 to play before going on a 13-0 run to lead 50-38 with 12:45 to go. In the first four minutes of the half, the teams traded leads five times.
JMU brought it to as close as 13 at 54-41 with 11:19 to go but couldn't overcome the earlier run as Wake Forest would lead by as many as 21 down the stretch and closed out the win

Game Notes

JMU now trails Wake Forest 2-0 in the all-time series.
JMU has now led at half in nine of 11 games this season but is just 6-3 in those games.
Wake Forest used a 13-0 run to turn a 38-37 deficit into a 50-38 lead in a little over four minutes in the second half. It is the first run of 10-0 or more that the Dukes have given up this season.
Luke Anderson notched a season-high in points, finishing with 11.
JMU finished with a season-low 58 points as a team.

Up Next
The Dukes will open up Sun Belt Conference play with a game at South Alabama on Saturday, Dec. 21. The game will stream on ESPN+ and WSVA 92.1 FM | 550 AM and the Varsity Network App with Dave Riggert on the call.