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Duke blows out Wake Forest basketball in its second straight win on the road

Steve Wiseman
·4 min read

Duke once again owns a winning record and the Blue Devils posted an emphatic victory to get there.

In a game that saw Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes pick up two first-half technical fouls and an ejection, Matthew Hurt poured in 22 points as the Blue Devils blasted Wake Forest 84-60 in ACC basketball at Joel Coliseum.

Having fallen below the .500 mark for the first time since November 1999 with three consecutive losses earlier this month, Duke (9-8, 7-6 ACC) won its second game in a row with a dominating performance against the Demon Deacons (6-10, 3-10 ACC).

With strong shooting and solid defense, Duke led 36-22 with 3:18 remaining in the first half when Forbes picked up two technical fouls.

With Duke shooting at the basket near the Wake bench, Blue Devils freshman Jaemyn Brakefield drove through the lane but missed a dunk attempt. The officials whistled to stop play and Forbes was called for his first technical. With his face red as he yelled through his mask, Forbes came on the court to continue arguing with official Tony Henderson, who signaled for the second technical foul and kicked Forbes out of the game.

Assistant coach Brooks Savage took over as acting coach for the remainder of the game, but Duke led 45-26 and pushed its lead as large as 29 points in the second half.

The Blue Devils shot 33 of 61 (54.1%), including 11 of 25 3-pointers (44%) to post the easy win. Hurt topped the 20-point mark for the second game in a row with another scintillating shooting performance. He made 8 of 9 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.

His big night came on the heels of a 24-point game Saturday when Duke beat N.C. State 69-53. Hurt made 8 of 10 shots against the Wolfpack, including 6 of 7 3-pointers.

DJ Steward added 16 points for Duke against Wake Forest while Joey Baker (12 points) and Wendell Moore (11 points) also reached double figures.

Wake Forest shot 39.2%, while making just 7 of 25 3-pointers (28%).

















Here are earlier updates from the game:

Second half update: Duke rolling toward easy win

Looking nothing like the team that’s struggled like no Duke team has in two decades, the Blue Devils took a 19-point halftime lead and extended it to 68-43 with 10:26 to play in the game.

Another big scoring night from sophomore forward Matthew Hurt helped Duke run out to the big lead over the Demon Deacons. Hurt scored 21 points in the game’s first 29 minutes to lead the Blue Devils. DJ Steward, with 12 points is the only other Duke player in double-figures as eight Duke players have scored.

After hitting 8 of 10 shots, including 6 of 7 3-pointers, while scoring 24 points in Saturdays 69-53 win at N.C. State, Hurt hit 8 of his first 9 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, against Wake.



Halftime update: Blue Devils up 19 as Wake coach ejected

Duke took control of the game early and Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes, incensed at the officiating, took out his anger and earned an early end to his coaching night.

Forbes was called for two technical fouls with 3:18 left in the first half, earning him an automatic ejection, as Duke took a 45-26 halftime lead.

The confrontation occurred during a Duke possession. The Blue Devils were shooting at the basket closest to the Wake Forest bench.

With the Blue Devils up 36-22, Jaemyn Brakefield drove through the lane but missed a dunk attempt. The officials whistled to stop play and Forbes was called for his first technical. He came on the court to continue arguing with official Tony Henderson, who signaled for the second technical foul and kicked Forbes out of the game.

Assistant coach Brooks Savage is taking over as acting coach for the remainder of the game.

First half update: Duke in control

Excellent ball movement in half courts sets led to plenty of open shots for Duke early and the Blue Devils took advantage against Wake Forest.

Duke hit 12 of its first 20 shots (60%), including 5 of 9 3-pointers, to build a 29-13 lead. The Deacons made just 5 of their first 17 shots and turned the ball over five times to fall behind.

Pregame update

Duke is sticking with the same starting lineup it has used for the last three games. Freshman center Mark Williams starts in the post along with sophomore forward Matthew Hurt. The perimeter players are sophomore Wendell Moore and freshmen DJ Steward and Jeremy Roach. Williams took over the starting job from freshman Jalen Johnson three games ago. Johnson told the staff on Monday he was declaring for the NBA Draft and ending his college career.