WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Rutgers men's basketball team fell to Wake Forest 76-57 Wednesday night at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Grad forward
Aundre Hyatt led the way with 13 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
Grad guard
Noah Fernandes added 13 points and a steal in 32 minutes of action.
Redshirt senior
Oskar Palmquist supplied eight points and a career-high five boards off the bench.
Wake Forest earned an early 18-3 lead with 13:06 left in the opening half. The Demon Deacons went on an 11-3 run to gain a 29-11 advantage with 8:09 in the opening stanza.
The Scarlet Knights chipped at the Wake lead with a 12-3 stretch commanded by crafty buckets from Hyatt and sophomore
Antwone Woolfolk cutting the deficit to 37-31 at the break.
RU held the Demon Deacons scoreless for the final 2:15 of the half and their last field goal was scored with 3:18 remaining in the first segment.
RU got within three points before a 9-1 scoring burst for Wake Forest to build its lead back up to 50-39 with 12:12 to play in the contest.
Fernandes spearheaded a 9-0 RU run to cut the Wake lead to 50-48 with 10:31 left.
The hosts answered with an 18-0 run to take a commanding lead in the second half.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- The Scarlet Knights were down as many as 18 points and cut the deficit to two points (50-48, 10:31 2nd)
- The RU reserves outscored the Wake Forest bench, 23-15.
- Rutgers is 5-4 against ACC teams under head coach Steve Pikiell.
- Clifford Omoruyi needs seven rebounds to tie Dane Miller for 8th all-time in rebounds at RU.
- Omoruyi needs one point to hit 1,000 in his career at RU.
UP NEXT:
RU takes on Garden State rival Seton Hall on Saturday, December 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Tip-off is set for 8:30 PM and will be televised on FS1.
