Deacons go up 15 in the first half, nine at halftime, lose in a similar script as other road games
The reason this one feels familiar is because it is.
Wake Forest lost on the road again, falling 87-76 at Virginia Tech on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum.
The Deacons (18-11, 10-8 ACC) lost their final ACC road game of the season in spite of:
- leading by 15 in the first half.
- hitting 9 of their first 10 3-pointers.
- leading by nine at halftime.
In six of Wake’s eight ACC road losses, the Deacons have held a halftime lead. In the eight road losses, the Deacons have been outscored by a combined 97 points in the second halves.
Overall, there’s been a theme:
Virginia Tech (16-13, 8-10) scored the first four points of the second half, and that was the start of a 14-4 run that gave the Hokies their first lead since it was 7-6 three minutes into the game.
Wake Forest scored on the next possession, a Hunter Sallis jumper, which turned out to be its last lead of the game. It lasted 31 seconds; Virginia Tech was in the midst of making 10 out of 13 shots.
The Hokies made 19 of 30 shots in the second half. Hunter Cattoor scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, playing all 20 minutes and also recording three rebounds and two assists.
Lynn Kidd had 21 points on an efficient 9-for-11 from the field, pulling in nine rebounds, too. In Wake’s 23-point win over the Hokies two months ago, he had 14 points on 7-for-15 shooting. Sean Pedulla added 15 points and MJ Collins scored 11.
Wake’s sizzling start, that 9-for-10 clip from behind the arc, had the lead at 40-25 with six minutes left in the first half.
Obviously, that wasn’t sustainable — Wake Forest missed its last four 3s of the first half. The Deacons took 46-37 lead into halftime, with Kevin Miller scoring six points in the last 90 seconds of the half after an 8-0 Hokies run cut Wake’s lead to seven.
Miller led Wake Forest with 21 points, along with six assists and five rebounds. Four players joined him in double-figure scoring, Efton Reid III with 13 points (and nine rebounds), Cameron Hildreth and Parker Friedrichsen with 12 points apiece, and Sallis with 11.
