Hunter Sallis pumped in 24 points and Andrew Carr tallied 22 points as Wake Forest rallied in the second half to defeat visiting Florida 82-71 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday night at Winston-Salem, N.C.
A late-game 10-1 run made the difference as the Demon Deacons improved to 3-0 in home games.
Cameron Hildreth added 18 points, including clutch offense down the stretch, and Kevin Miller provided 11 points for Wake Forest (4-3), which has won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Riley Kugel posted 24 points, draining half of his team's eight 3-point baskets, and Florida teammates Tyrese Samuel, Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin all had 12 points. The Gators (4-3) were hurt by 15 turnovers.
The Gators went up 45-36 early in the second half, aided by a couple of Wake Forest turnovers. The Demon Deacons were even at 52 with 10:33 left.
Later, Hildreth's free throw broke a 66-66 tie with 3:35 remaining and his layup extended the lead. Miller made it 71-66, while the Gators were in a stretch of four consecutive possessions with a total of one point.
When Sallis converted a three-point play with 1:32 left, it was 74-67 and that was followed by another basket from Miller.
Wake Forest ended up shooting 49.1 from the field, with Carr connecting on three of the team's six 3-pointers. Hildreth was 8-for-10 on free throws.
Florida led 36-32 at halftime despite shooting 39.4 percent from the field. Kugel scored the last five points of the first half.
Wake Forest scored only two points in the last 4:20 of the half. Earlier, Florida turned a 15-8 hole into a 20-17 lead.
Samuel picked up his third foul less than three minutes into the second half.
The Gators were without center Micah Handlogten because of an ankle injury.
--Field Level Media
Florida | Wake Forest | |
Riley Kugel 24 | Scoring | Hunter Sallis 24 |
Zyon Pullin 5 | Assists | Cameron Hildreth 4 |
Tyrese Samuel 8 | Rebounds | Andrew Carr 6 |
Zyon Pullin 6 | Free Throws Made | Cameron Hildreth 8 |
Walter Clayton Jr 3 | Steals | Andrew Carr 2 |
Thomas Haugh 2 | Blocks | Andrew Carr 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Florida | 71 | 40.0 | 8-24 | 15-19 | 11 | 33 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
Wake Forest | 82 | 49.1 | 6-16 | 20-29 | 12 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 13 |