WINSTON-SALEM – It wasn’t perfect, it didn’t last 40 minutes and it came with some help from an overmatched opponent.

It was a step in the right direction, though — and that’s better than where Wake Forest’s basketball team has been in its first five games.

The Deacons beat Western Carolina 82-69 on Tuesday night at Joel Coliseum, hitting a season-high 12 3-pointers and notching 10 “kills” — three straight defensive stops — in a relatively comfortable win.

“I think obviously when you play good defense and you get stops, it allows you to run in transition,” said senior guard Cameron Hildreth, who had 18 points and six assists. “We always focus on our defense and understand that if we play good defense and … we do the right things offensively, things are going to go well for us.”

It really can be that simple for this Wake Forest team that’s won five of its first six games, but hasn’t made things easy on itself and was coming off a 75-60 loss at Xavier.

The Deacons used a 21-3 run in the first half to build a 16-point lead, drawn out across seven minutes. That spurt started with Wake’s first kill, and the Deacons had four more of them in that span.

And the Deacons put this game away with an 18-2 run in the second half, that spurt taking about 7½ minutes. The lead was 72-49 at that point.

Wake’s start to the game meant a 17-14 deficit early. The finish, having what was as large as a 24-point lead whittled down to the game’s 13-point final margin, wasn’t ideal when considering NET, KenPom and Bart Torvik rankings.

It was enough of a flash, though, to be encouraged with what Wake Forest can still achieve this season.

“The start of the game and the end of the game, we were not very sharp,” coach Steve Forbes said. “And it’s because of offensive rebounds. Now, we did turn the over 21 times, that’s a big difference.

“I thought we did a really good job moving the ball. We had 17 assists on 27 baskets and only had eight turnovers, when we had 18 on Saturday (at Xavier).”

Western Carolina (1-3) had 12 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points. Wake Forest only had 17 defensive rebounds.

Slicing that turnover number from Saturday by more than half was a requirement for this team.

“When we don’t turn the ball over, we’re a lot better offensively,” said Hunter Sallis, who led Wake Forest with 20 points and had five assists, with two turnovers. “I mean, that’s been the prime focus heading into this game and for the rest of the season.”

The Deacons played most of this game without senior center Efton Reid III. He played six minutes in which he didn’t appear as active as normal and didn’t come out of the locker room for the second half because of a migraine.

It’s a recurring issue for Reid, Forbes said — he’s just never experienced one on the day of a game before Tuesday.

“After the first five minutes, he just couldn’t go,” Forbes said. “I could tell when I was talking to the team before we came out, he wasn’t looking too good. We went right to him early, he scored. And then … thank God I’ve never had one, but I’ve seen him when he has them and it’s debilitating.”

In Reid’s absence, sophomore center Churchill Abass played more minutes (23) than he had in the first five games of the season combined — two of which he didn’t play in at all.

Abass’ performance was better than the stat sheet — two points, three rebounds — indicates, and he had three blocks to stand out on the defensive end.

“He’s raw offensively,” Forbes said of Abass, who transferred from DePaul. “He’s a hard worker and he never once complained when he didn’t play early. … As we climb the ladder of competition, we need him to play in there with those big guys.”

When Hildreth drilled a 3-pointer with 3:47 left in the first half, it was Wake’s ninth of the game — matching the Deacons’ season high. Of course, the previous season high came when Wake Forest was 9-for-37 in the season opener; against Western Carolina, the Deacons’ 16th 3-pointer was their ninth make.

Wake’s leader in 3s — both attempts and makes — brings some collective relief for the Deacons.

Sophomore Parker Friedrichsen was 4-for-8 on 3s, coming off the bench for the second game after starting the first four. He drained three of them in the first 10 minutes and added another with a minute left, which triggered a trio of walk-ons entering the game for Wake Forest.

Dating back to last season, Friedrichsen was 4-for-40 in the previous 11 games.

“Just seeing the smile on his face, the joy on his face was good to see again,” Sallis said of Friedrichsen. “Just seeing his confidence — I remember he hit two in a row and he came and he came down and shot one in transition. I was like, ‘Bro, shoot that every time.’”

TIP-INS: Sallis entered the game needing five points to hit 1,000 for his career, so he hit that mark with a mid-range jumper in the first half. The senior scored his first 301 points at Gonzaga and has 714 points in his one-plus season as a Deacon. … Wake Forest had gone 11 games without making double-digit 3-pointers, having last done so in the loss at Virginia Tech on March 2 last season. … Western Carolina was led by a couple of guards, Cord Stansberry and Ice Emery, who both had 20 points. … Omaha Biliew wasn’t on Wake’s bench because he underwent surgery on his foot Tuesday.