Wake Forest still experimenting ahead of Detroit Mercy game

Wake Forest keeps trying new things early in the season, even if not all of the adjustments are by design.

The Demon Deacons will try to stick to the script when Detroit Mercy visits for Saturday's game in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (5-1) will be at home for the final time prior to three consecutive road games. Detroit Mercy (3-2) already has two more victories than all of last season.

After a couple of narrow wins and a loss at Xavier, Wake Forest had a smoother time earlier this week in defeating visiting Western Carolina 82-69 on Tuesday night.

Yet these are games when teams have to figure where contributions are going to come from in certain situations. The experimenting took a turn for Wake Forest in the Western Carolina game. Center Efton Reid III had limited minutes because of migraines, so there was a shift in responsibilities.

Normal backcourt players Cameron Hildreth and Juke Harris logged time at the power forward slot.

"That's just part of it," coach Steve Forbes said. "They did a good job adjusting. We ran a lot of stuff and there are several guys learning different positions. ... I give credit to those guys for doing the best job that they could do on the fly and adjusting to the play calls that we ran and the stuff that we changed."

Wake Forest could excel if both Parker Friedrichsen and Davin Cosby can be consistent 3-point threats. Friedrichsen slumped with shooting in the first few games of the season and was replaced in the starting lineup by Cosby.

In Tuesday's game, Friedrichsen drained four 3-pointers, while Cosby hit two.

"It was really good to see Parker and Davin both make shots together," Forbes said.

Not everything was solved for the Demon Deacons. Western Carolina collected 12 offensive rebounds, and that took some of the shine off Wake Forest's defensive efforts.

"We can't be a good defensive team, or a really good defensive team, unless we rebound the ball," Forbes said. "It's demoralizing to your defense to get stops and then not get the ball."

In Detroit Mercy's 70-59 win at Ball State on Wednesday, Orlando Lovejoy tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

"We got the ball to the shooters and playmakers," first-year Titans coach Mark Montgomery said. "You could tell by the guys' body language that we were going to get a road win. It had been a long time coming."

On Saturday, the Titans will look for their second road victory since February 2023. The outcome at Ball State seemed significant to Montgomery.

"We had to get over the hump," he said. "Our guys grinded it out."

--Field Level Media