Myles Colvin capped a 19-point showing by hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Wake Forest outlasted Memphis for a 69-68 victory in the third-place game of the Baha Mar Championship in Nassau, Bahamas on Friday night.
Wake Forest (4-2) trailed most of the night but outscored Memphis (1-4) 20-8 over the final 6:57 to erase an 11-point deficit.
Two free throws by Dug McDaniel snapped a 66-66 tie with one second left but Ashton Hardaway did not aggressively guard Isaac Carr’s inbounds pass. Carr easily threw a long pass to Tre’Von Spillers, who was positioned near the foul line.
Spillers kicked out to Colvin at the left side and with his feet set, the game-winner was on its way before Memphis’ Zach Davis could defend.
After the officials confirmed the call, Colvin got a loud ovation from the Purdue fans for his biggest shot since transferring from the school after two seasons there.
Spillers led the Demon Deacons with 24 points and, along with Colvin, combined to shoot 15 of 25 and bury five of Wake Forest’s nine treys. The clutch play by Spillers and Colvin occurred as leading scorer Juke Harris (22.6 ppg entering play) was held to 10.
Colvin scored 12 points in the second half, including a layup with 42 seconds left to get Wake Forest within 66-64. After two missed field goal attempts by Memphis, Sebastian Akins buried two clutch free throws with nine seconds left.
McDaniel scored 24 on 7-of-12 shooting but also committed two turnovers in the late collapse as the Tigers dropped their fourth straight. Davis added 12 for Memphis, which shot 34.5% in the second half and 41.1% overall while also committing 17 turnovers
McDaniel’s fourth 3-pointer gave Memphis a 22-11 lead with 7:38 remaining. Wake Forest recovered from its slow start with a 13-5 spurt featuring two treys from Spillers to close within 27-24 at the 3:52 mark.
The Tigers held a 33-27 halftime lead following a basket by Hardaway with eight seconds left.
After a choppy few minutes, Memphis took a 55-49 lead with 8:02 left when Davis sank 3s on consecutive possessions. The Tigers regained their double-double digit lead when Aaron Bradshaw converted a 3-point play for a 60-49 margin with 6:57 remaining before Wake Forest stormed back.
The Demon Deacons outscored the Tigers 20-12 in second half points in the paint and 10-3 in fast break points in the final 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media
