Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes didn’t make it to the end of his team’s 75-58 loss to No. 18 Florida Thursday, drawing two technicals and getting ejected from the game with 2:42 remaining.
Forbes and the Demon Deacons will try to author a happier ending to their experience in the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando on Friday when they play Minnesota for third place.
Wake Forest (6-2) trailed the unbeaten Gators by just four at halftime but quickly surrendered a 10-0 run to start the second half. Even though the Deacons got as close as six after that, the slow start was too much to overcome.
“We were fighting uphill from there,” Forbes said. “It was a hard-fought game. We played hard but not smart enough to win.”
Wake Forest received 14 points and 13 rebounds from Tre’Von Spillers, his second double-double of the season, but didn’t get the usual offensive heroics from guard Hunter Sallis. He made only 5 of 17 from the field and finished with 15 points — four under his average.
The Deacons hope Sallis is back in form against the Golden Gophers (5-2), who suffered a 68-66 overtime loss to Wichita State in Thursday’s first semifinal. Minnesota fought back from a five-point deficit in overtime to tie the game at 66 on Brennan Rigsby’s dunk but committed a foul on a drive to the bucket and gave up the winning foul shots.
The Gophers nearly won despite a rare off-day by senior forward Dawson Garcia. He was held to four points, 18 under his average, before fouling out in overtime. Lu’Cye Patterson took up the slack with a team-high 14 points and Femi Odukale added 13.
Patterson and Odukale, who room together on the road, are finding the form Minnesota coach Ben Johnson envisioned for them after some early struggles.
“We knew we were playing bad,” Odukale said, “but we always talked about better days ahead.”
This will be the eighth meeting of the teams, with the Gophers owning a 4-3 lead.
–Field Level Media
