Wake Forest turns tables on James Madison in 2nd half

Hunter Sallis delivered 27 points and 12 rebounds as Wake Forest exploded in the second half for a 75-58 nonconference victory over visiting James Madison on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Cameron Hildreth came off the bench to score 18 points and Davin Cosby Jr. added 13 points for the Demon Deacons (9-3), who improved to 7-0 at home.

It didn't come easy, however, as James Madison (6-5) led throughout the first half. After intermission, though, the Dukes made just 30.8 percent of their shots.

Parker Friedrichsen and Tre'Von Spillers paced the Demon Deacons' defense with four blocks each. Spillers also had 11 rebounds to lead Wake Forest to a 41-28 edge on the boards.

Mark Freeman scored 14 points and Luke Anderson scored all 11 of his points in the second half to lead James Madison (6-5), which has already topped last year's loss total when it went 32-4 on its way to the NCAA Tournament.

Wake Forest made 50 percent of its shots, including 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from 3-point range.

The Demon Deacons took control in the second half as Sallis, Hildreth and Cosby provided all of the points in a 22-3 run which transformed a one-point deficit into a 59-41 lead midway through the half.

Cosby had two 3-pointers in the run, Hildreth added one and Sallis contributed a three-point play during the spree.

James Madison got off to a quick start and never trailed in the first half. The Dukes hit six of their first eight shots, including 3-pointers from Bryce Lindsay and Eddie Ricks III to take a 14-7 lead.

James Madison grabbed its largest lead of the half at 21-13 when Freeman drained a triple nine minutes in.

With Sallis' two baskets in the final 51 seconds of the half, the Demon Deacons cut the deficit to 32-31 at the break.

--Field Level Media