Adrian Martino/Old Gold & Black
It was the best five-minute stretch of basketball the Deacs had played under Jeff Bzdelik. Duke was winning 66-59 with just over five minutes left when the Deacs went on a devastating 17-0 run. The Blue Devils did not score again until there was less than a minute left. By that time, the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
The same team that lost to a bottom-dwelling Boston College squad on March 1 used a second half offensive surge to overtake the Blue Devils.
Wake Forest was led by senior Travis McKie who added 19 points and sophomore backup Tyler Cavanaugh who had a career night with 20 points and six rebounds. Cavanaugh was nearly unstoppable in the game’s final five minutes, scoring eight points along with two rebounds.
“My teammates got me the ball in good places to score. When we’re flowing like that, everyone, you can’t guard all of us, so you’ve just got to take advantage and stay together and just keep working,” said Cavanaugh.
The Deacs took a 67-66 lead with 3.5 minutes left when Cavanaugh aggressively attacked Rodney Hood off the dribble, finishing with a left-handed jumper. Cavanaugh, having one of his best nights as a Demon Deacon, knew this game had a deeper meaning because of senior night.
“It just feels great to win. I’m glad I was able to help my team in the ways I could, but this one means a lot,” Cavanaugh said. “To be able to do it for Travis and Coron means a lot.”
Wake Forest never trailed again, punctuating their offensive onslaught with a Coron Williams layup goaltended by Jabari Parker, giving the Deacs a 76-66 lead with a minute left.
The game was an emotional rollercoaster, even forcing Coach K to kneel in a late timeout due to dizziness, according to Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski. Coach K also refused to appear in front of the media after the game as well.
Despite having to comeback in the second half, Wake Forest led for the majority of the first half. They only trailed for a total of three minutes.
In their prior Feb. 4 matchup, Wake Forest competed well against Duke at Cameron Indoor until a late first half run and sharp shooting led to an 83-63 Duke blowout.
The narrative was different in the second matchup as the Deacs took a 36-33 lead into halftime, making it only the second time this season Duke was down at half. The other instance was against Syracuse.
The Deacs built a lead largely off limiting Duke’s three-point success, who were only six of 27 from beyond the arc.
Offensively, sophomore guard Codi Miller-McIntyre orchestrated an aggressive Deacon offensive, contributing 13 points on 6 of 13 shooting and eight assists.
Wake Forest took advantage of 27 Duke fouls, converting 25 of 34 foul shots. Struggling offensively, forward Devin Thomas only had four points. However, he played a key defensive role with eight rebounds and two timely second half blocks, including his late block of Duke guard Quinn Cook. With 2:40 left, Cook drove to the left with open lane, putting up a layup attempt that Thomas quickly swatted, securing the Deacs’ 69-66 lead.
Perhaps Duke’s struggles in this game can be attributed to them looking ahead to their weekend matchup against hated rival No. 14 North Carolina and another possibility is that, despite losing nine of ten games before facing Duke, the Deacs are better than the average ACC team with a conference record of 6-11.
Regardless of the reasons, senior Travis McKie, and the rest of the campus, couldn’t be more thrilled with the upset victory especially because it occurred on the seniors’ final home game. “It’s a great feeling. It’s kind of picture perfect. It hasn’t been the easiest four years. I think everybody knows that. We’ve had our downs more than any team, but this season we beat [N.C. State], we beat [North Carolina], and we finally beat Duke. Especially being my last game ever here, it’s amazing. I couldn’t picture it better.”
Prior to this game, whispers and rumors had been circulating about whether or not Bzdelik’s last home game as Wake Forest’s head coach will be against Duke. These rumors have plenty of support too, as Bzdelik has failed again this year to produce a winning record in the ACC as the Deacs are, to date, 6-11 in conference play and suffered a seven-game losing streak that lasted from Jan. 29 to Feb. 22. As elated Demon Deacons rolled the magnolias of Hearn Plaza, one student, senior Doug Atkinson, said, “I was thinking as the game ended, ‘Oh no! Does this mean we’re going to keep Bzdelik?’”
Although some students were concerned that this major upset would prevent changes to the coaching staff, most students, such as senior Georgia Tanner, were just happy the last home game of the season, and the last game for the season, ended on such a high note. “To be honest I just cared more about having a good last home game of senior year,” said Tanner.
Rewinding to March 1, the Demon Deacons preceded their upset with an ugly loss against Boston College. Despite being down 30-24 at the half against Boston College, the Deacs used a 14-5 run to take a 42-40 lead with 13:51 left in the game. The Eagles, however, scored on their next seven possessions, mounting a 16-3 run to go back in front, where they would stay the rest of the way.
“We couldn’t defend them,” said head coach Jeff Bzdelik. “We simply couldn’t. They scored on 11 straight possessions in the second half. They shot 34 free throws in the second half. They outrebounded us by about 15.”
Although the victory was only the Eagles’ second since January, they outrebounded the Deacs 36-21 and scored on 23 of their final 31 possessions. Bzdelik noted that inconsistent communication among his players may have been to blame.
“It takes five guys on every possession to stop somebody,” Bzdelik said. “It takes five guys on every possession to score, and communicate and help each other. Everybody has to do their job on every possession.”
Four of five Demon Deacon starters scored in double figures against Boston College, led by senior forward Travis McKie and sophomore forward Devin Thomas, who chipped in 18 points apiece. In addition, fifth-year guard Coron Williams had 13, and sophomore guard Codi Miller-McIntyre had 10.
Despite the unfortunate loss to Boston College, Wake Forest certainly rebounded and came out with their best effort of the season to beat Duke in their last game in the Joel this season.