Spillers gets a double-double, Wake Forest beats Minnesota for 3rd place at ESPN Events Invitational

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Tre’Von Spillers had a season-high 18 points and a career-high tying 16 rebounds to help Wake Forest beat Minnesota 57-51 on Friday for third place at the ESPN Events Invitational.

Wake Forest (7-2) won its second game this season against a Big Ten opponent after edging Michigan 72-70 on Nov. 10.

Cameron Hildreth drove into the lane and split two defenders for a reverse layup to give Wake Forest a 56-51 lead. Lu’Cye Patterson was off on a contested 3-pointer from well beyond the 3-point arc and Efton Reid III secured the defensive rebound.

Parker Friedrichsen made the first of two free throws with 5.1 seconds left for a six-point lead and he grabbed his own miss on the second attempt before Wake Forest ran out the clock.

Hildreth finished with 13 points and Reid nearly added a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons controlled the paint, outrebounding Minnesota 42-27 to overcome a 1-for-15 shooting performance from 3-point range.

Lu’Cye Patterson scored 12 points and Isaac Asuma added 11 for Minnesota (5-3).

Neither team shot better than 42% and they combined to go 4 for 33 from 3-point range.

Wake Forest plays at No. 20 Texas A&M on Tuesday in the SEC/ACC Men’s Challenge. Minnesota returns home to play Bethune-Cookman on Sunday.