SPORTS
Christina DeNovio, denoca20@wfu.edu Essex Thayer, thayse20@wfu.edu
Follow us on Twitter @wfuogbsports OLD GOLD & BLACK
PAGE 11 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
Photo Courtesy of Wake Forest Athletics
MBB snags big win over Florida State CHRISTIAN ODJAKJIAN Staff Writer
Wake Forest (19-5, 9-4) emerged victorious in Tallahassee on Saturday, beating Florida State (13-9, 6-6) 68-60. The Demon Deacons closed the game on an 11-4 run to secure their first win at the Tuck Center since 2008. “As bad as our offense was for a lot of the game with the turnovers, we never let our offense dictate the way we defended,” Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes said after the game. “I thought that was the key to the game.” When Florida State came to WinstonSalem on January 24th and lost 75-54, the Seminoles forced 22 Wake Forest turnovers. On Saturday, the Demon Deacons turned the ball over a season-high
26 times, 18 of which came in the first half. “It was ugly,” Forbes said. “But we were resilient, and we had less rebounds and turnovers in the second half, which gave us a chance to win.” Florida State’s star guard Caleb Mills confidently nailed a pull-up three-pointer in transition to cut Wake Forest’s lead to 57-56 with just under four minutes remaining in the contest. Unwavered, Wake Forest answered the Seminoles' push in a very loud arena, embarking on a game-sealing 11-4 run. “We came up short against an older, more mature team that didn’t seem to get rattled, even with all of the turnovers,” said Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. In the possession after Mills’ big shot, senior forward Isaiah Mucius drilled a
three from the wing. Florida State scored to cut the lead back to two, but sophomore guard Damari Monsanto responded with a highlight-reel play. Monsanto dribbled the ball all the way up the floor with pace, looking a little out of control. He attacked the rim and sucked in the defense, before dropping off a smooth wrap-around pass to big man Dallas Walton, who slammed home a two-handed dunk. After another FSU score, Wake led 6460. With less than 50 seconds remaining, Monsanto caught a pass from Alondes Williams, and delivered a dagger three from the corner, directly in front of an ecstatic Wake Forest bench. The Deacons were up 25-21 heading into halftime. Williams led the charge in the first half with 13 points but was the leading culprit in the turnover de-
partment with five. Wake Forest was fortunate to be leading considering the offensive woes. The Seminoles struggled shooting the ball before halftime, connecting on just 21% of their field goal attempts. Junior forward Jake LaRavia was the engine to a strong start to the second half where the Deacons were able to settle into an offensive groove. The Indiana State transfer scored 14 points on 6-8 shooting in the second half, and finished the game with 18 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. For the second straight game, a Demon Deacon was just one assist shy of a tripledouble. In the Feb. 2 win over Pittsburgh, Williams finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
See Basketball, Page 12
