Myles Colvin's big game leads Wake Forest past Syracuse

Myles Colvin scored 32 points behind a blistering shooting effort as Wake Forest topped Syracuse 88-83 on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Colvin had shot a combined 1 of 16 from the field — including 1 of 9 from long range — over the last two games, both losses. But he was on fire from the start in this one, making his first seven 3-pointers and finishing 9-of-12 from the field, 7-of-8 from 3-point range and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Tre’Von Spillers contributed 16 points for Wake Forest (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Juke Harris notched 13 points.

Donnie Freeman scored a career-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Syracuse (15-14, 6-10), which shot well from the field (51.9%), the 3-point arc (13 of 26) and the free-throw line (14 of 17) but still lost its third straight game.

Nate Kingz chipped in with 20 points for the Orange, while Naithan George had 13 points and 10 assists.

Wake Forest trailed by four points at halftime and faced the same deficit early in the second half when Kingz knocked down a 3-pointer to put Syracuse ahead 56-49.

The Orange led 62-58 with 11:33 left when Colvin and Harris made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to tilt the scoreboard in favor of the Demon Deacons. Those outside shots sparked a 14-3 run which put Wake Forest ahead 72-65 with 7:37 left.

Spillers’ layup with 3:07 to play gave the Demon Deacons their largest lead, 82-72, marking the first and only time either team had a double-digit lead.

Syracuse quickly erased half that deficit, closing to within 82-77 on Freeman’s three-point play. Freeman’s drive to the rim with 1:07 left brought the Orange within 84-80. However, Cooper Schweiger grabbed an offensive rebound on Wake Forest’s next possession, scoring a putback layup to halt the visitors’ momentum.

With the game tied at 29-29, Syracuse scored eight straight points – the final five by George – and went on to lead 46-42 at intermission.

Freeman (15 points) and Kingz (14) combined for seven 3-pointers in the first half. As a team, the Orange were 10-of-18 from long distance (55.6%) in the first 20 minutes.

Colvin paced the Demon Deacons with 19 first-half points. He was 4-of-4 from outside the arc in the opening session.

–Field Level Media