In his final regular season home game, Cameron Hildreth scored 14 points to lead a balanced attack as Wake Forest rolled past Georgia Tech, 69-43, Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Efton Reid III, who also was honored on Senior Day, added 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Demon Deacons (21-10, 13-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped the three-game winning streak of the Yellow Jackets (16-15, 10-10).
Another Wake Forest senior, Hunter Sallis, contributed 13 points for the Demon Deacons who entered the day No. 72 in the NET rankings and likely need a significant run in next week’s ACC tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.
Wake Forest did it with defense as it limited Georgia Tech to 29.6 percent shooting from the floor and 3-of-23 (13 percent) from 3-point range.
Lance Terry, who was coming off a career-high 31-point performance in a win over Miami, made 1 of 8 tries from 3-point range, scoring just three points.
Baye Ndongo delivered 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Jaeden Mustaf added 12 points for the Yellow Jackets, who enter the ACC tournament as the No. 8 seed and will play the No. 9 seed in the second round, Wednesday at noon in Charlotte.
Wake Forest took control in the middle of the first half. After Georgia Tech’s Terry drained a 3-pointer to tie it up 10-10, the Yellow Jackets missed their next 10 shots, including nine 3-point tries, in a dry spell that lasted for nearly 8 minutes.
The Demon Deacons outscored the Yellow Jackets 12-1 during the stretch as Sallis and Juke Harris hit triples to help Wake Forest take a 22-11 lead.
After Ibrahim Souare ended the drought with a slam dunk and added two free throws, the Demon Deacons closed the half with a 12-0 run.
Reid started the spree with a putback slam and added a jump hook. Then he finished the run with a 3-pointer as Wake Forest went to the locker room with a 34-15 lead.
In the second half, Georgia Tech never got the deficit inside 16 points. Wake Forest twice stretched the lead to 31 points.
Wake Forest’s seeding for the ACC Tournament will be determined by results later on Saturday. The Demon Deacons will be seeded no higher than No. 4 and no lower than No. 6.
