Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest pull away from Western Carolina

Hunter Sallis scored 20 points and Cameron Hildreth added 18 points and six assists as host Wake Forest returned to the win column by defeating Western Carolina 82-69 on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Parker Friedrichsen poured in 14 points with the aid of four 3-point baskets, Tre'Von Spillers paired nine points with five rebounds and Davin Cosby posted eight points for Wake Forest (5-1), which lost 75-60 at Xavier on Saturday.

Ice Emery and Cord Stansberry scored 20 points apiece for the Catamounts (2-2), who were dinged by 21 turnovers as they fell to 0-2 in road games. Emery and Stansberry combined for 14 of the team's final 20 points.

Wake Forest made 12 3-pointers, one more than Western Carolina, and hit six more free throws than the Catamounts. Both teams shot 42.9 percent from the field.

The hosts held a lead of around 10 points in the early stretches in the second half, but the Catamounts were within 54-47 after Jamar Livingston's three-point play with 13:54 remaining.

Western Carolina then managed just 10 points over the next 10-plus minutes as the Demon Deacons pulled away.

Wake Forest scored the next seven points, all from Sallis and Spillers, to go up 61-47. Vernon Collins' jumper ended the run and pulled the Catamounts within 12 before Wake Forest rattled off the next 11 points to put the game out of reach.

Hildreth started the run with a 3-pointer and a jumper, and Sallis followed with a dunk. Juke Harris and Sallis then each hit a pair of free throws to make it 72-49 with 5:57 left. Five points from Stansberry in the final 44 seconds made the final score a bit more respectable.

Wake Forest led 44-34 at halftime on the way to defeating the Catamounts for the second time in four seasons.

Friedrichsen, who had been in a shooting slump in opening games, hit three 3-pointers in a six-minute span off the bench in the first half. He had been in the starting lineup for the first four games of the season.

--Field Level Media