The last time Wake Forest defeated Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium was in 1997, when current head coach John Scheyer was just nine years old. Twenty-five games and 27 years later, Scheyer and the Blue Devils have yet to get that experience.
Led by a 23-point performance from second-year forward Mark Mitchell, No. 9 Duke held off a 22-point performance from Demon Deacon guard Hunter Sallis and ended its three-game homestand with a 77–69 victory.
“I thought Mark and Flip were men. I thought they were really tough tonight,” head coach John Scheyer said of his starting frontcourt’s performance after the game. “Anyone who doubts their toughness, what they’re about, they’re Mark Mitchell. They don’t know Kyle Filipowski. They were just men tonight.
Mitchell seemed to have a key steal in crunch time, tipping the ball away from senior center Andrew Carr. However, the officials ruled the ball out to Duke (19–5, 10–3 in the ACC), and Wake Forest was able to contain the crowd’s eruption. The fans got their way moments later, as senior guard Jeremy Roach hit a big three through contact and a layup to put the Blue Devils up by nine with less than four minutes to play.
From that point on, Duke simply needed to avoid any serious mistakes. But, an uncharacteristic turnover from Roach – who is No. 1 in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio – gave the Demon Deacons (16-8, 8-5) a breather. Another turnover, this time from second-year center Kyle Filipowski, allowed Wake Forest to get within two. In the end, a stop by Mitchell and a fastbreak dunk sealed the victory.
The Blue Devils were able to maintain their lead for most of the second half, but were unable to put much space between them and the Demon Deacons. Leading by just five heading into the under-12 minute media timeout, Scheyer put the ball into the hands of second-year forward Mark Mitchell, who patiently read the defense before hitting a short hook shot.
However, Duke was not able to string together enough stops to go away, and Wake Forest clawed back to within three. However, the Demon Deacons’ momentum slowed after a timeout and the Blue Devils cut their lead back to nine. This time, it was on the back of Filipowski, who converted two strong layups through contact.
“Tonight, we had great momentum in the second half,” Scheyer said of the duo, which played the entire second half. “Mark, Flip, it’s hard to beat any of those guys when they have it going. He did a great job.”
After a slow first half from both teams, the second half started with great urgency. Each side immediately inbounded the ball and drew fouls, but while it was only the first personal on Filipowski, junior center Afton Reed III was called for his fourth foul. This kept the big man out of the game for a significant portion of the second half.
Junior center Matthew Marsh, who replaced Reid, suffered a foul of his own a few minutes later. From a feed from freshman Jared McCann, Mitchell made contact and finished for an and-one.
A few games later Mitchell took the ball coast-to-coast, arousing the home crowd. The crazies made themselves known shortly after, when a transition three from McCann ignited Cameron Indoors and forced Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes to call a timeout.
Wake Forest, which had not reached double figures until less than 10 minutes in the first half, finally broke the dam from beyond the arc when redshirt senior guard Damari Monsanto hit back-to-back triples to tie the game. Went. First time all night.
The Blue Devils suffered from a slow start, shooting only 35.5% from the field in the first half. Therefore, both teams continued to trade turnovers and missed shots. The Demon Deacons had several steals but failed to convert, while the Blue Devils continued to miss open looks from deep.
Filipowski was able to knock down a midrange jumper at the end of the first half, giving Duke a narrow 29–27 lead heading into the locker room after a rough opening 20 minutes.
Wake Forest, who came into Monday’s game as the second-highest scoring ACC team in conference play, was ice-cold to start the game. It started the game 0-for-11 from 3-point range, including two missed threes in one possession by junior guard Cameron Hildreth.
“We are playing at Duke in Cameroon. If you get an open shot, that’s a win. So make it, Forbes said after the game.
Due to their struggles from the perimeter, the Demon Deacons took advantage of their size inside to score early. Wake Forest’s first 10 points were inside the paint, a trend that continued for the first 12 minutes of the game.
However, the real answer to the Demon Deacons’ early struggles was Salis. The Gonzaga transfer scored 14 of Wake Forest’s 27 points in the first half.
After playing their last three games at home, the Blue Devils will travel to Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday to take on Florida State.
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, Assistant Blue Zones Editor
Dom Fenoglio is a second-year Trinity student and assistant Blue Zones editor for The Chronicle’s 119th volume.
