Juke Harris has emerged as a silver lining in the midst of a disappointing season for Wake Forest.
Fresh off a career-high scoring performance, Harris aims to lead the Demon Deacons to a win over Syracuse on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Harris scored 38 points on 12-of-19 shooting Wednesday at Boston College in a game the Demon Deacons eventually lost 68-67 on a putback in the final second. He has scored in double figures in every game this season and is averaging 21.7 points — third in the Atlantic Coast Conference — after contributing just 6.1 points as a freshman last season.
“He’s probably as good as any player I’ve coached as far as (improving from) a freshman to a sophomore,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “I don’t have all the superlatives you could say about him. He’s just a really fabulous player.”
Wake Forest (14-14, 5-10 ACC) has lost two straight following a three-game winning streak and sits in 14th place in the 18-team conference. Syracuse (15-13, 6-9) isn’t faring much better, as both teams are likely to barely make the 15-team ACC Tournament in Charlotte with the regular season dwindling.
The Orange also are looking to avoid a third straight defeat with a bumpy campaign winding to a close.
Syracuse absorbed a 77-64 defeat to then-No. 16 North Carolina last Saturday despite 22 points from J.J. Starling. The rest of the Orange starters combined for just 24 points on 9-of-29 shooting.
“Obviously we would have liked (the season) to go a little bit better,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “You have always got to be hopeful. We have got to get ready for the next game, and then pick your head up when all is said and done, and you deal with it.”
Wake Forest has won three straight meetings between the teams. In last season’s matchup, the Demon Deacons prevailed 81-71 as they shot 47.4% from 3-point range while holding the Orange to 22.7% from outside the arc.
