Wake Forest and Wakefield are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. The Wake Forest Cougars will take on the Wakefield Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Wake Forest is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.1 points per game this season.
Wake Forest came up short against Knightdale on Tuesday, falling 60-40. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 305th, while the Knights are ranked 73rd).
| 01/14/25 @ Knightdale | 8 |
| 12/30/24 vs Crossroads Christian | 4 |
| 11/19/24 vs Wake Prep Academy | 4 |
| 12/12/24 vs Green Hope | 3 |
| 12/02/23 vs Cardinal Gibbons | 3 |
Wake Forest's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Palmer Chase, who posted 15 points and six boards, and Darryl Knight, who scored eight points. Those eight points gave Knight a new career-high.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Wakefield, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They walked away with a 73-64 win over Franklinton last Wednesday.
Wakefield's win came from a few key players Wake Forest will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ethan Wisler, who earned 14 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists. Another player making a difference was Avery Hicks, who went 5 of 7 en route to 14 points.
Wakefield was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Franklinton only racked up eight assists.
Wakefield's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-6. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Wake Forest, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost eight of their last nine matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-9 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Wake Forest has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Wakefield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Wake Forest was taken down by Wakefield 87-60 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Thankfully for Wake Forest, Taj Boone-Chambers (who went 11 for 15 on his way to 23 points along with six assists and five boards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
