Wake squashes the Spiders

In a tight game almost the whole way, Wake Forest outlasted Richmond in OT by a final score of 74-68. The Deacs hit the shots and free throws they needed to down the stretch and played tough on defense to pull a win over the Spiders, 45th in the Pomeroy Rankings. Richmond previously had wins over Miss. State, ODU, Florida and Missouri, and this win will look great on Wake's overall resume.

The hero of the night was freshman Ari Stewart, who hit a three with under a minute remaining to put the game almost out of reach. Al-Farouq Aminu overcame poor play and foul trouble to make shots when it counted and he finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Chas McFarland had his best game of the year and really looked great on both ends of the floor. He showed the kind of fire that he has shown in the past and it looks like his talk with Dino really hit home. He finished with 13 and 12, with 5 offensive boards.

Ish Smith was 5/14, but contributed 13 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, despite committing 5 turnovers. On all, the Deacs had a bad shooting day, at 37.5% and 17.6% from beyond the arc. Wake was able to crack down on Richmond, holding them to 40% and 25% from deep. The big difference was the play inside, as Wake outrebounded the Spiders 47-31 and shot 40 FTs.

This win extends Wake's winning streak to six. They haven't lost since Purdue and will enter the Xavier game at 10-2.