The Deacs finished 2014 with a victory.
Despite struggling at times against an active Princeton team on both ends of the floor, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons managed to get by the Tigers 80-66 to improve their record to 8-6 on the season. Wake got out to a quick start on offense and led 7-4 early on, but a switch by Princeton to a 1-3-1 zone helped slow down the Demon Deacons and Princeton was able to snare a 14-11 lead after ten minutes. Largely due to a great defensive effort, Wake responded with a lengthy 11-0 run to retake the lead at 22-14 which included a fantastic sequence on both ends of the floor where Dinos Mitiglou blocked a shot, Devin Thomas hit the floor to corral the rebound, and following an offensive reset, Thomas was able to repost down low on the block and find a wide open Mitiglou for three.
Princeton finally snapped the run with a transition three but Wake continued to extend their lead as the half approached ultimately leading 32-20 at the break led by Codi Miller-McIntyre's 4 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Wake finished the half on a 24-9 run.
Princeton took the halftime break as a chance to get their offense back in sync and was able to put together some solid offensive possessions to cut the lead into single digits. Mitchell Wilbekin, fresh off a three game suspension, was able to pick back up right where he left off and hit a big three in transition to stretch the Demon Deacon lead back out to 40-27 with 17 minutes left in the game. Wake suffered a big hit shortly before the under-16 timeout when Thomas picked up his third foul and was relegated to the bench for several minutes with Mitiglou expected to provide a stable inside presence in his absence. Princeton took the opportunity to pound the ball inside and were able to establish an interior game despite a failure to crash the offensive glass whatsoever.
Despite the chances inside with Thomas out, Princeton was unable to cut the lead any closer than seven points as the Demon Deacons absolutely caught fire from outside, at one point shooting 10 of 20 from outside before finishing 10 for 23.
Wake Forest dominated the glass and outrebounded Princeton 45-27. Princeton only had two offensive rebounds the entire night and one of those was a team rebound. In all, Wake played perhaps its best offensive game of the season, as the Deacs only had 10 turnovers on the night and finished with 80 points.
Codi Miller-McIntyre had arguably his best all-around game of the season. The junior guard finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists. Konstantinos Mitoglou also had an excellent game, as he added 15 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. Cornelius Hudson had 12 points and 7 rebounds, while Mitchell Wilbekin had 12 points. It was certainly a positive to see the young players have excellent games today.
Princeton will next host Norfolk St.
Wake Forest will host #5 Louisville on Sunday at 8 p.m.
