WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - An enthusiastic, 'Tie Dye' crowd, fast-paced play, and competitive effort on both ends throughout a full 40 minutes all headlined Wednesday evening (Nov. 29) for Wake Forest men's basketball (4-3), as the team downed Florida (4-3) in the first-ever ACC/SEC Challenge, finishing on an 82-71 victory inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum.

The win moved Wake Forest to 34-5 overall inside LJVM Coliseum since the start of the 2021-22 season, also now standing at 23-0 on its home floor against non-conference opponents dating back to December 2018.

After trailing at the halftime break, the Demon Deacons outscored the Gators 50-35 during the second 20 minutes and ultimately forced 15 turnovers by the visitors. Wake Forest held Florida to its second-fewest points scored this season with 71 (70 vs. Virginia on Nov. 11.).

The Deacs were led by junior Hunter Sallis, who tied his career high of 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting (53.3 percent), in addition to four assists and four rebounds. It was his fourth 20-point performance of the season. Additionally, Sallis leads the team over the first seven games of the season with 19.1 points per game.

Senior forward Andrew Carr continued to close in on the 1,000 career points milestone, as he finished his 40th-career appearance in a Wake Forest uniform with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting (61.5 percent). It was his second-highest point total of the year thus far. The West Chester, Pa. native also led the team with three blocks and six rebounds.

The backcourt duo of junior Cameron Hildreth and redshirt sophomore Kevin Miller added 29 combined points against the Gators. The former tallied six rebounds and four assists, both tied for a team high.

Wake Forest remains in Winston-Salem for the next five games of 2023. The Deacs will next face Rutgers inside LJVM Coliseum next Wednesday (Dec. 6).

Tip is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.