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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Hunter Sallis scored 29 points while Andrew Carr had a big second-half performance to help Wake Forest beat No. 8 Duke 83-79 on Saturday, getting a big boost to its chances. of the NCAA tournament.
As Demon Deacons fans stormed the court to celebrate, Duke star Kyle Filipowski appeared to be injured after a collision with a fan running alongside him as he walked toward the locker room tunnel. He was left lame and had to be helped off the field amid the chaos.
Filipowski said he thought the collision was intentional.
“It’s really ridiculous how that situation is handled,” Filipowski told WFMY News after the game. “I absolutely feel like it was personal. Intentional, for sure. Like I said, there’s no reason why they see a big guy like me trying to make his way off the court and they can’t just avoid me, you know? There’s no excuse for that. .
Duke coach Jon Scheyer believes Filipowski suffered a sprained ankle in the collision.
“When are we going to ban breaking into the courts?” Scheyer asked the media. “When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something, where they get hit, pushed or mocked right in the face? It’s a dangerous thing.
“You look around the country. Caitlin Clark, something happens. And now Flip, I don’t know what his condition is going to be. He sprains his ankle. It’s one thing, like when I played, at least it was 10 seconds. And you storm the court. Now , the bell doesn’t even ring, and they’re running down the court. This has happened to a lot of us this year.”
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes agreed with Scheyer: court assaults should not be allowed in the game
“I didn’t see what happened at the end. I hope he’s okay,” Forbes said. “I don’t like court raids. I’ve never liked them. I’ve been a part of them before. They just don’t feel safe.”
Filipowski scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (21-6, 12-4).
Sallis capped the game by making two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to start the celebration for the Demon Deacons (18-9, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). Carr finished with 16 of his 18 points after halftime, including dominant stretches after the break in which the Demon Deacons fed him to ease out of the post or score on Mark Mitchell inside.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.