Another game for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and their losing streak is now in double-digits. The Deacons traveled to Raleigh hoping to end their losing woes, but the NC State Wolfpack had other ideas, and the Demon Deacons fell 99-88. The Wolfpack’s 99 points matched their season-high point total and improved their record to 13-12 (3-9). Wake Forest drops to 10-15 (1-12).
Barber Dominates
Wake Forest never really found an answer for NC State guard Anthony Barber, who finished his day with 38 points. He played every minute of the game and shot 50% from the field, but the place where he made arguably the biggest impact was on the drive and at the free throw line. He used his speed and great dribbling to catch the Deacons' defense flat-footed, which led WF to commit fouls. Barber took 20 free throws in the game and made 17 of them. He also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists and only turned the ball over twice. He only received one personal foul.
Wake Foul Trouble
Anthony Barber and NC State created a lot of problems for the Wake Forest defense, mainly their big men. Both Konstantinos Mitoglou and John Collins fouled out for Wake Forest, and Codi Miller-McIntyre and Bryant Crawford each had four fouls.
The Demon Deacons had 32 total personal fouls. NC State only had 18.
Devin Thomas's Career Day
Even though Wake Forest lost this contest, the Deacon senior Devin Thomas still put forth a great effort, and it showed in his rebounding. He set his career-high rebounding total with 21. He also had 15 points in the game. He was tremendous in the game and was one of the main reasons Wake Forest was able to keep pace with the Wolfpack for as long as they did.
Maverick Rowan Steps Up
In NC State's first game against Wake Forest, Wolfpack freshman Maverick Rowan did not play as well as he would have liked. Rowan was only 3-for-11 from behind the three-point line in a losing effort in Winston-Salem.
Today, it was another story. Even though Rowan only made 3 three-pointers again, he contributed from the free throw line, going 7-8 on his way to a 20-point outing.
Up Next
For Wake Forest, they will have to look ahead to a Tuesday night contest at Pittsburgh to try to end their now 10-game losing streak. The Panthers will be another tough test for this struggling Demon Deacon team.
NC State will be back in action on Monday night against the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers are a top-ten team with a tremendous defense, so NC State, even with their great offense, may not be as close to 100 points in that game.