Alondes Williams scored seven of his 24 points in overtime as Wake Forest pulled out an 80-77 victory against Oregon State in the second semifinal of the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday night in Niceville, Fla.
Wake Forest (6-0) will meet LSU in Saturday night’s tournament final. Oregon State takes on Penn State in the consolation game.
Oregon State (1-5) rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit to surge into the lead, but it wasn’t enough.
Jake LaRavia added 17 points and Daivien Williamson had 14 points for Wake Forest.
Alondes Williams put the Demon Deacons ahead at 76-75 on a drive with 2:16 left in OT. On Wake Forest’s next possession, LaRavia scored on another bucket in the lane.
The Demon Deacons had a chance to extend the lead, but a turnover led to a pair of free throws by Tre’ Williams at the 44-second mark.
Alondes Williams countered with a free throw with 18 seconds left. When he missed the second attempt, LaRavia created a held ball on the rebound, allowing Wake Forest to gain possession on the alternating arrow.
That led to Williams going 1-for-2 again at the free-throw line. The Beavers’ Jarod Lucas missed a potential tying 3-pointer on the game’s last shot.
The Beavers have a five-game losing streak. The two previous losses came by one point before the overtime setback Friday.
Rodrique Andela paced Oregon State with 16 points. Gianni Hunt had 11 points and Warith Alatishe and Dexter Akanno both had 10 points.
It was the first close game for Wake Forest following five home blowouts.
After Oregon State moved ahead with five minutes left in regulation, the Demon Deacons recovered. Alondes Williams scored to put the Demon Deacons ahead with 1:10 to go. The final points of second half came on Hunt’s dunk for Oregon State with 53 seconds to play.
Both teams then committed turnovers before Andela blocked Alondes Williams’ attempted game-winner.
Wake Forest’s Dallas Walton fouled out in overtime after scoring nine points. Oregon State lost Alatishe to fouls during the extra session.
Neither team shot well from long range. Wake Forest was 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) on 3-point attempts, while Oregon State went 2-for-14 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
LSU defeated Penn State 68-63 in overtime in the first game.
–Field Level Media
