Winston-Salem, N.C. — Hunter Sallis had a standout performance on Tuesday night, contributing significantly to Wake Forest’s 75-58 victory over James Madison. He tallied 27 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half, while also grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out five assists.

James Madison started strong, showcasing their skills early on by making six of their first eight shots. The Dukes quickly took a 14-7 lead following a three-pointer from Bryce Lindsay, a transfer from Texas A&M, about four and a half minutes into the game. Wake Forest battled back, managing to narrow the gap three times during the first half, the latter instance occurring when Sallis scored consecutively, ending the half with James Madison leading by just one point at 32-31.

The second half commenced with Cameron Hildreth hitting two free throws, giving Wake Forest its first lead of the contest. The game saw a flurry of lead changes within the next few minutes until Hildreth made a layup with 16:05 remaining, a bucket that would secure Wake Forest’s lead for the remainder of the game. Hildreth quickly followed with more free throws, and Sallis completed a three-point play, leading to consecutive three-pointers by Hildreth and Davin Cosby Jr., which capped a remarkable 13-0 run.

James Madison managed to break its scoring drought of over four minutes when Eddie Ricks III connected on a three-pointer with 12:22 left in the game, narrowing the score to 50-41. However, Sallis responded immediately with two baskets, and Cosby added a three-pointer followed by a layup, extending the lead to 18 points with 9:38 still to play. From that point on, the Demon Deacons maintained a lead of ten or more.

In addition to Sallis’s impressive performance, Hildreth contributed 18 points, while Cosby added 13 points for Wake Forest, which improved to 9-3 with this win. For James Madison, Mark Freeman led the scoring with 14 points, while teammates Luke Anderson and Elijah Hutchins-Everett added 11 and 10 points, respectively.