Field Level Media
Dec 11, 2021
Alondes Williams, who turned in a triple-double, and Carter Whitt each scored 16 points as host Wake Forest defeated cold-shooting South Carolina Upstate 79-53 on Saturday night at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Williams, a transfer from Oklahoma, also had 14 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 5-for-11 from the field, though made just one of five attempts from 3-point range. The Demon Deacons were 9-for-30 on 3s.
Dallas Walton tacked on 14 points as Wake Forest (9-1) improved to 7-0 in home games.
Whitt, a reserve, shot 6-for-9 from the field, making four of his seven attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
Jordan Gainey and Nick Alves scored 10 points apiece for USC Upstate (2-7), which shot 32.8 percent from the field. The Spartans were 6-for-25 on 3-pointers and were charged with 15 turnovers. Their starters combined for just three free-throw attempts.
USC Upstate has lost four games in a row, though the other three in the skid came at home.
Wake Forest held a 29-18 lead at halftime and built that advantage steadily in the opening minutes of the second half.
Then a 12-0 run that included seven points from Williams stretched the margin to 60-30 before the midway mark of the second half. Whitt had the other five points in the spurt, which began with his 3-point basket.
USC Upstate with a stretch of more than six minutes with Quentin Hodge accounting for seven of the team's nine points.
Earlier, Wake Forest didn't hold a double-digit lead until the final four minutes of the first half. Isaiah Mucius drained a 3-point shot to extend the lead to 24-13.
Eleven different players scored for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest finished with a 47-34 rebounding edge.
This was Wake Forest's third victory of the season against a member of the Big South Conference.
--Field Level Media