Hunter Sallis scored 18 points and Tre’Von Spillers posted 16 points as they sparked Wake Forest in the second half of a 72-70 victory against Michigan on Sunday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C.
Sallis sank two free throws with 4.7 seconds left as the Demon Deacons (3-0) went up by three and completed a rally from a 13-point first-half hole. Rubin Jones made a final foul shot for Michigan and intentionally missed the next attempt, but the Wolverines couldn’t secure the rebound for a final shot.
Freshman Juke Harris scored 11 points off the bench in Wake Forest’s first game away from home.
Roddy Gayle Jr. led Michigan (1-1) with 11 points, Tre Donaldson had 10 points and nine rebounds and L.J. Cason also scored 10. Sam Walters (nine points), Nimari Burnett (nine), Jones (nine) and Vladislav Goldin (eight) were contributors.
Spillers’ 3-pointer gave Wake Forest its first lead at 44-43 with 15:56 to play, but there was a back-and-forth stretch after that.
Michigan led 57-53 before failing to score for more than five minutes. Sallis posted six points during a 10-0 Demon Deacons run.
Leading 65-63, Wake Forest benefited from a Michigan airball as the shot clock expired. The action stayed at the other end for 90 seconds as the Demon Deacons collected a pair of offensive rebounds before a turnover.
On the final of Michigan’s three straight turnovers, Spillers scored on a breakaway dunk for a 67-63 edge with 38 seconds left. Gayle hit a pair of free throws for Michigan at the 30.3-second mark.
Michigan shot 14-for-28 from the field in the first half but 10-for-29 in the second half.
Michigan held three 13-point leads in the first half, but the Wolverines went more than four minutes without a point and the advantage was whittled away. The Wolverines’ lead was down to one point until Donaldson’s launch from near midcourt went in at the first-half buzzer and made it 38-34.
The Wolverines hit four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes for a 14-6 lead. Wake Forest’s scoring drought of almost six minutes allowed Michigan to build its lead to 18-6.
The Demon Deacons made only three of their first 13 shots from the field.
The neutral-site clash will be followed next year when the teams meet in Detroit.
