While Jesse Edwards, Joe Girard III, and Judah Mintz reprised their role as the “big three” for Syracuse one more time, the big man had the biggest impact. Edwards dominated the paint all night long, tying a personal best with 27 points while grabbing 20 rebounds as the Orange (17-14, 10-10 ACC) handled Wake Forest Saturday evening, 72-63.

Edwards’ effort led the trio, which combined for 60 of 72 SU points against the Demon Deacons (18-13, 10-10). Wake, which entered the game as the top three-point shooting team in the ACC, struggled from long range almost all night long. They got one short hot streak in the first half and another in the second, but finished just 10-of-39 (25.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Neither side shot the ball particularly well, as Syracuse’s 42.2 percent mark was the better of the two efforts. Edwards and Maliq Brown did most of the heavy lifting, combining to shoot 15-of-21 from the floor, while the rest of the Orange made just a dozen shots from the field.

SU did enjoy a couple statistical advantages, including matching their best rebounding edge in conference action, finishing plus-seven in the contest. The Syracuse defense also came up with 13 steals as they forced 16 turnovers in the game, all but two of each coming in the first half.

SU notched the first five points of the contest, but Wake responded with a 13-4 run for 13-9 lead just under eight minutes in. Syracuse took over from there, posting the next six points to jumpstart a 16-1 run for a 25-14 lead with just under eight minutes left in the half. It was a balanced effort for the Orange, as Maliq Brown, Edwards, Girard, and Mintz each had four points in the streak.

The Demon Deacons snapped out of a slow start from long range with five straight threes, helping them trim the margin to 32-29 with under four minutes until the break. Wake Forest went cold just as quickly, though, and SU rang up the last seven markers of the half for a 39-29 lead at intermission.

Demon Deacons got a 9-2 run to start the second half to pull within three, but a Chris Bell three and Edwards dunk on back-to-back trips started an 11-2 SU run and pushed their lead back out to 52-40. Wake responded with a pair of baskets, but Edwards posted a personal 8-0 run to boost the Syracuse lead to 60-44 just past the midpoint of the half.

The Demon Deacons could not offer a consistent threat the rest of the way, never getting within single digits until a little over two minutes remained and Syracuse held on from there.

Edwards backed up his 27-20 effort with five steals and a pair of blocks. Mintz finished with 17 points, five assists, and three steals while Girard added 16 points. Brown came off the bench to chip in eight points, nine rebounds, and three steals.

Tyree Appleby paced Wake Forest with 21 points and eight assists, connecting on five threes along the way, but also committed seven turnovers. Daivien Williamson was the only other Demon Deacon in double figures, tallying 11 points. No other Wake player had more than seven points.

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