Alondes Williams, who turned in a triple-double, and Carter Whitt each scored 16 points as host Wake Forest defeated cold-shooting South Carolina Upstate 79-53 on Saturday night at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Williams, a transfer from Oklahoma, also had 14 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 5-for-11 from the field, though made just one of five attempts from 3-point range. The Demon Deacons were 9-for-30 on 3s.
Dallas Walton tacked on 14 points as Wake Forest (9-1) improved to 7-0 in home games.
Whitt, a reserve, shot 6-for-9 from the field, making four of his seven attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
Jordan Gainey and Nick Alves scored 10 points apiece for USC Upstate (2-7), which shot 32.8 percent from the field. The Spartans were 6-for-25 on 3-pointers and were charged with 15 turnovers. Their starters combined for just three free-throw attempts.
USC Upstate has lost four games in a row, though the other three in the skid came at home.
Wake Forest held a 29-18 lead at halftime and built that advantage steadily in the opening minutes of the second half.
Then a 12-0 run that included seven points from Williams stretched the margin to 60-30 before the midway mark of the second half. Whitt had the other five points in the spurt, which began with his 3-point basket.
USC Upstate with a stretch of more than six minutes with Quentin Hodge accounting for seven of the team's nine points.
Earlier, Wake Forest didn't hold a double-digit lead until the final four minutes of the first half. Isaiah Mucius drained a 3-point shot to extend the lead to 24-13.
Eleven different players scored for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest finished with a 47-34 rebounding edge.
This was Wake Forest's third victory of the season against a member of the Big South Conference.
--Field Level Media
South Carolina Upstate | Wake Forest | |
Nick Alves 10 | Scoring | Carter Whitt 16 |
Dalvin White 3 | Assists | Alondes Williams 10 |
Jalen Breazeale 6 | Rebounds | Alondes Williams 14 |
Quentin Hodge 4 | Free Throws Made | Alondes Williams 5 |
Jalen Breazeale 2 | Steals | Alondes Williams 2 |
Josh Aldrich 2 | Blocks | Dallas Walton 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
South Carolina Upstate | 53 | 32.8 | 6-25 | 7-11 | 8 | 31 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
Wake Forest | 79 | 45.2 | 9-30 | 14-18 | 18 | 45 | 6 | 8 | 15 |