Wake Forest will try to turn disappointment into something to build on when it takes on visiting UMass-Lowell on Sunday afternoon at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Wake Forest (2-1) won two home games prior to Tuesday night’s 85-84 overtime loss to No. 6 Michigan in Detroit.
The Demon Deacons turned a 10-2 run into a 77-70 lead with 4:53 remaining before the Wolverines forced overtime with a late 10-3 run. Wake Forest went just 2 of 11 from the floor in the extra period.
“Credit to (Michigan),” Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes said. “We’ve had a good series. We beat them by two (at home), and they beat us by one in overtime.”
Juke Harris scored 19 points for Wake Forest in the defeat, while Mekhi Mason added 16 points. The Demon Deacons shot 34.5% in the game.
“Hopefully we can learn from this,” Forbes said.
UMass-Lowell (1-3) has things to work on as well, going into its first-ever meeting with Wake Forest.
Even though the River Hawks dropped an 86-72 decision at Columbia on Thursday night, there were signs of going in the right direction in the team’s first stop on a five-game road stretch.
“I thought this was our best game yet as a team,” coach Pat Duquette. “… We did some good things but got hammered on the boards.”
The leading scorer for the River Hawks is Austin Green (13.5 points per game). The 6-foot-8 forward also leads the team in rebounding with 6.5 per outing. Second-leading scorer JJ Massaquoi scores 11.5 points.
Wake Forest’s perimeter defense has been strong, with Michigan going 1-for-13 in the second half from beyond the arc and 4-for-25 in the game. That put Wake Forest’s opponents at 22.1% (19-for-86) from long range.
The Demon Deacons have forced 17.7 turnovers per game.
Harris is averaging 22 points for Wake Forest and leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per outing. He grabbed five offensive boards against Michigan.
The Demon Deacons are 32-0 in nonconference regular-season home games in six seasons under Forbes.
UMass-Lowell has lost three games in a row, including a 110-47 blowout to nationally ranked Connecticut.
