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  • Wake Forest Goes Down in the NIT as the Texas A&M Aggies Beat the Demon Deacons, 67-52

Wake Forest Goes Down in the NIT as the Texas A&M Aggies Beat the Demon Deacons, 67-52

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Basketball

Wake Forest men's basketball concluded the 2021-22 season with a final record of 25-10 (13-7 ACC) after falling to Texas A&M 67-52 inside Reed Arena.

The Demon Deacons' 25 wins are tied for the third-most in program history and most since the 2004-05 season, and the program's 19-win improvement is tied for the second largest year-over-year turnaround in Division I history.
 
Isaiah Mucius led the team on offense with 15 points and five rebounds including three makes from beyond the arc. With 71 made three-pointers, Mucius finishes his senior campaign in a tie with Coron Williams (2013-14) for the 13th most three-pointers in program history.
 
Dallas Walton capped off his season with his second career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a block and a steal. Walton's 48 blocks this season are tied for the 18th most in program history.
 
Alondes Williams finished his college career with 996 points, 351 rebounds, and 231 assists after scoring nine points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing four assists, grabbing two steals, and blocking a shot against the Aggies. The ACC Player of the Year now owns the 7th most points (649), 8th most field goals (242), and 11th most assists (181) over a single season in program history.
 
How It Happened

  • Isaiah Mucius scored a layup at the 17:18 mark to get the Demon Deacons going on offense.
  • Khadim Sy's layup ended an 8-0 Texas A&M run and cut the team's early deficit to nine (13-4) with 13:28 remaining in the first half.
  • Alondes Williams converted a three-point play at the free throw line to bring Wake Forest within seven of the Aggies' early lead (14-7) with 11:15 until halftime.
  • Cameron Hildreth drained his first three-pointer to cut the Aggies' lead to 27-13 with 3:32 to play in the opening period.
  • Wake Forest entered halftime trailing Texas A&M 32-15.
  • Mucius opened the second half with an alley-oop and knocked down a triple on the following possession, narrowing the Deacs' deficit to 14 (34-20) with 19:07 left to play.
  • Mucius knocked down a pair of triples and Khadim Sy scored a layup to open up an 8-0 run that cut the Aggies' lead to 10 (40-30) with 14:03 left to play.
  • Dallas Walton drilled a triple to bring the Deacs within single digits (42-33) with 11:23 remaining in the final half.
  • Williams' layup cut the deficit to 12 (51-39) with 8:07 left to play in regulation.
  • Wake Forest eventually fell to Texas A&M,

Stats of the Game

  • Several players currently rank on the program's all-time leaderboards:
    • Alondes Williams: 242 made field goals ranks 8th, 649 points ranks 7th, 181 assists ranks 11th.
    • Isaiah Mucius: 71 made three-pointers ranks tied for 13th.
    • Dallas Walton: 48 blocked shots ranks tied for 18th.
    • Jake LaRavia: 55 steals ranks tied for 15th.
    • Daivien Williamson: .865 free throw percentage ranks 9th, 62 three-pointers ranks 19th.

Coach's Comments
"Texas A&M got out to a great start, and we put ourselves in a hole that we just could not get out of. They had great offensive balance and hit some timely threes when we started to put together a run in the second half. We battled back in the second half, but we just could not overcome the amount of turnovers. We knew how to attack their defense though, and when we did it properly, we got great looks. We didn't make those open looks in the first half but made some in the second.
 
Despite the offensive struggles, we still had 15 assists on 18 made baskets. The entire key to the game was to drive the ball to collapse their defense and skip it out to the open man. When we did that and played across the midline, we made some really good plays. We just got far too sped up early and played really uncharacteristically on offense as a result. The defense still kept us in the game though and prevented them from shooting the ball well, but the turnovers were just too much.
 
I just want to say, what an incredible group of guys we had this year. To win 25 games is an incredible achievement and I'm very proud of them. I told them after the game, they have absolutely nothing to hang their head about. The younger guys and players we have coming back will learn from this. 15 years ago, I was here in the same building under the same circumstances. Then my next year at Texas A&M we went to the NCAA Tournament. We have great momentum with our program and I'm very excited for the future of Wake Forest Basketball." - Coach Steve Forbes