Wake Forest Uses Free Throws To Beat UCLA 80-77 In Maui
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) —Devin Thomas had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Wake Forest, despite not making a field goal over the final 5:40, beat UCLA 80-77 on Wednesday night for third place in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
The Demon Deacons (4-2) had a huge advantage at the free-throw line, going 30 of 42 compared to UCLA's 8 of 14.
Thomas was 9 of 11 from the line, and Cornelius Hudson, who had 16 points and eight rebounds, was 11 of 16 on free throws.
Tony Parker had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Bruins (3-3), while Isaac Hamilton added 18 points.
UCLA, which opened the tournament with a win over UNLV before losing to No. 5 Kansas in the semifinals, trailed 70-65 after Wake Forest's last field goal: a rebound tip by Thomas with 5:41 to play.
The Bruins couldn't get the field goal they needed down the stretch while the Demon Deacons were going 10 of 16 from the line. Hudson's free throw with 3.7 seconds left made it 80-75 and Hamilton's layup at the buzzer accounted for the final score.
Wake Forest opened the tournament with a final-seconds win over No. 13 Indiana, and then it lost to No. 19 Vanderbilt in the semifinals.
Mitchell Wilbekin had 15 points for Wake Forest, and Dinos Mitoglou scored 14.
Bryce Alford finished with 14 points and seven assists for the Bruins, and Thomas Welsh had 10 points.
LONG AGO
The only other time these schools met was also in a third-place game. Wake Forest prevailed 82-80 in consolation game of the 1962 Final Four.
TIP-INS
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons had four players averaging double figures coming into the night, and that's how many they had in the game. ... This was the first time Wake Forest won two games in a November or December tournament since it won the 76 Classic in Anaheim, California in 2008. ... The loss to Vanderbilt was the first time the Demon Deacons were outrebounded this season. They lost the battle of the boards to UCLA, 45-37.
UP NEXT:
Wake Forest is at Rutgers on Monday.
UCLA hosts Cal State Northridge on Sunday.
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