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Brown’s 26 points leads Wake Forest past No. 23 Xavier

Xavier v Wake Forest

WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 14: Head coach Travis Steele of the Xavier Musketeers during the first half during their game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at LJVM Coliseum Complex on December 14, 2019 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Chaundee Brown scored 26 points, Brandon Childress added 22 and Wake Forest beat No. 23 Xavier 80-78 on Saturday in the Musketeers’ first game this season on an opponent’s home court.

Xavier (9-2), which trailed the entire second half, had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Quentin Goodin’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired.

Wake Forest (6-5) led by 13 points in the second half. But Childress missed the first of two free-throws attempts to give the Musketeers a final shot for a win.

Wake Forest won despite playing without 7-footer Olivier Sarr, who averaged 15 points and 10.9 rebounds off the bench in the previous seven games. Sarr is in concussion protocol after suffering a blow to the head in the Deacons’ Dec. 7 game against N.C. State.

Paul Scruggs scored 30 points for Xavier. Naji Marshall added 16 before fouling out with 3:45 remaining.

The Deacons never trailed after Ody Oguama’s basket put the ahead with 3:57 left in the first half, triggering a 14-4 run that gave Wake Forest a 39-30 halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

Xavier: The Musketeers failed their first road test of the season, but almost pulled out a victory in a game in which they trailed for all but a few minutes.

Wake Forest: The Deacons picked up some needed momentum after losing their previous three, winning without Sarr. They have a week to recover before playing region rival North Carolina A&T.

UP NEXT:

Xavier: Host Western Carolina on Wednesday night.

Wake Forest: Host N.C. A&T next Saturday.