Wake eyes better offensive output vs. North Carolina A&T

Field Level Media|published: Wed 6th November, 20:37 2024

NCAA Basketball: Wake Forest at Florida State

Jan 9, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Cameron Hildreth (2) shoots the ball over Florida State Seminoles guard Cam Corhen (3) and forward Bol Bowen (10) during the first half at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Wake Forest aims for a 2-0 start on Thursday night when it hosts North Carolina A&T in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (1-0) were victorious in their season opener on Monday, defeating visiting Coppin State 64-49 behind Cam Hildreth's 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Hunter Sallis added 10 points and five assists, while Omaha Biliew -- a transfer from Iowa State -- had 11 points in 15 minutes in his Wake debut.

In his fifth season guiding the Demon Deacons, Steve Forbes is 10-0 in season openers as a Division I head coach.

Forbes was pleased with the defensive effort, as Wake forced 20 turnovers and held Coppin to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor, but he was underwhelmed by the offense.

"Our offense was so abysmal it put so much pressure on our defense," he said. "I was really proud of the way that we defended, and we're going to have to do that as we keep going through this season -- we're going to have to be able to defend."

Wake shot just 9 of 37 (24.3 percent) from 3-point land and 39.3 percent from the floor (22 of 56).

"It's going to be really hard to win big games when you're shooting that poorly," Forbes said. "Am I panicking? No. I know what they can do, but they have to do it."

North Carolina A&T (1-0) also won its first game, a 107-55 home rout over NCAA Division II Cheyney University of Pennsylvania on Monday. The Aggies, who finished 7-25 last season, shot 50.6 percent from the floor in the victory.

The Aggies' Jahnathan Lamothe, a sophomore transfer from Maryland, had 27 points on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point land along with six rebounds and four assists. Will Felton posted 17 points and 12 rebounds in his collegiate debut, which was delayed two years due to knee injuries.

"You can't say enough about Big Will," second-year A&T coach Monte Ross said. "I said to the guys on my staff, Will was bigger and stronger than those guys, but that doesn't always mean you dominate. He dominated because he was bigger and stronger than those guys."

--Field Level Media

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