Late spurt lives Deacons to win in Myrtle Beach

A late 10-0 run helps Wake Forest beat Cal State Fullerton 66-59 in the consolation round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational

Wake Forest recorded its second win of the season with a 66-59 victory Friday over Cal State Fullerton in a consolation bracket game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational at HTC Center. The Deacons used a late 10-0 run to break open a back-and-forth game and defeat the Titans.

Brandon Childress led the Deacons with 15 points and five assists. Jaylen Hoard also scored 15 points as he led Wake Forest in scoring for the third straight game. Sharone Wright, Jr. added a career-high 13 points. Khalil Ahmad scored 20 points to lead Cal State Fullerton.

The first half saw both teams struggle offensively, each having long scoring droughts. Wake (2-1) trailed by six late in the half, but Childress made all three free throws after being fouled behind the arc and Sunday Okeke had a putback slam at the buzzer to close the gap to one at the break, 25-24.

The second half remained close for the first 15 minutes and the game was tied at 51-51 with 5:00 to play. The Deacons had an 10-0 run to take a 61-51 lead with 2:30 to play. Cal State Fullerton (1-3) responded to cut the lead in half at 61-56 with 1:00 to go, but Wake was able to seal the victory on the foul line.

Wake Forest will play either Monmouth or Valparaiso on Sunday in its final game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Game time on Sunday is 10:30 a.m., and the contest will air on ESPNU.