WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Hunter Sallis scored 29 points to help Wake Forest edge No. 8 Duke 83-79 to boost its NCAA Tournament chances on Saturday, a day that ended with Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski being shaken up in a collision as Demon Deacons fans stormed the court to celebrate.
The 7-footer was hobbled when he was hit by a fan running by him toward midcourt as Filipowski walked toward the locker-room tunnel. He was helped off the court amid the chaos.
He spoke to reporters after the game with his right knee wrapped in a bag of ice, though he wasn’t significantly limping afterward.
“Just like any other upset game where the fans rush the court, all hell goes crazy,” Filipowski said. “Just trying to get my way off the court, and you know, you’ve got these crazy college students just doing whatever they want. It’s got to be a little more protective when things like that happen.”
Coach Jon Scheyer added: “When are we going to ban court-storming? Like, when are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? It’s a dangerous thing.”
Sallis capped the game by hitting two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to start the celebration for Wake Forest (18-9, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). Andrew Carr finished with 16 of his 18 points after halftime, including dominant stretches coming out of the break that had the Demon Deacons feeding him to facilitate out of the post or score over Duke’s Mark Mitchell inside.
Wake Forest made 16 of 23 shots (69.6%) after halftime and finished at 60.4% for the game, led by Sallis hitting 11 of 13 shots to go with six rebounds.
Filipowski had 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (21-6, 12-4), while Jeremy Roach had 16 points. Duke shot 53% in a tightly contested game before Wake Forest snapped the Blue Devils’ five-game winning streak.
The vibe in Joel Coliseum certainly befitted the stakes for the Demon Deacons. The team announced a record crowd of more than 14,700 for the first program sellout since 2017, and fans in the lower bowl sported familiar yellow-and-black tie-dyed shirts that harked back to successful and rowdy days of past success.
Big picture
Duke: The Blue Devils had won 16 of 18 games since losing their ACC opener at Georgia Tech on Dec. 2, including eight of nine in the past month. But the severity of Filipowski’s injury was unclear, and freshman Caleb Foster played just five second-half minutes before leaving the game with an injury that had him walking gingerly afterward.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons (No. 20 in KenPom, No. 27 in the NET) entered Saturday at just 1-5 in Quadrant 1 games that top a postseason resume, with the win coming against Florida (No. 30 in NET) on Nov. 29. Facing the Blue Devils (No. 12 in NET) was by far the best opportunity left to strengthen their case for an NCAA bid compared with March games at Virginia Tech (52nd) and home against Clemson (25th) to end the regular season.
Up next
Duke: The Blue Devils return home Wednesday to host eight-win Louisville.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons travel to Notre Dame on Tuesday.