Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Juke Harris hit seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points as Wake Forest pulled away in the second half to beat West Virginia 75-66 on Saturday night at the GoMart Holiday Hoopsfest.
Tre’von Spillers added 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Demon Deacons (7-3), who shot 51 percent from the field and turned 17 Mountaineer turnovers into 25 points.
Omaha Biliew opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give Wake Forest a 37-36 lead, and Harris followed with back-to-back 3s during an 11-0 run that pushed the margin to 47-36. The Demon Deacons kept control from there, answering every WVU push.
Honor Huff hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 61-56 with 5:30 left, but Wake Forest countered quickly. Nate Calmese scored on a put-back and then assisted on consecutive Spillers baskets to restore a double-digit cushion. Harris delivered the final blow with his seventh 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Calmese finished with nine assists, four points and four steals. The Demon Deacons went 10 of 25 from behind the arc.
Huff led the Mountaineers (7-3) with 24 points, including five 3-pointers. Chance Moore added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. WVU shot 40.4 percent but stayed competitive through a dominant 38-26 rebounding advantage and 20 offensive boards.
“Coming into the game, we knew a big thing for them was points off turnovers and their second-chance points, and if you add that up that was 35 points in a game that we didn’t shoot the ball well enough,” WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. “But you could overcome (the poor shooting) if we could have taken better care of the ball.”
The Mountaineers trailed by 12 late in the first half before rallying with a 17-2 surge. Huff hit three 3s and knocked down three free throws after being fouled on another attempt, and Jasper Floyd capped the run with a go-ahead 3 that tied the game at 34 heading into the break.
But Wake Forest again built its lead to double digits early in the second half and never relinquished it.
“I was disappointed that we weren’t able to locate Juke Harris a couple times,” Hodge said. “Obviously, we didn’t execute what we were supposed to be doing and to his credit, when we did, he still made some tough plays.”
WVU hosts Little Rock on Tuesday at the Hope Coliseum.
Photo Credit: Dale Sparks- All Pro Photography- WVU Athletics
