Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Down Undermanned Virginia
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 2, 1999
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Darius Songalia scored 22 points and freshman Ervin Murray added a career-high 14 in his first start as Wake Forest broke away late Saturday and beat an undermanned Virginia squad 69-53.
Up by only seven points, the Demon Deacons (10-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) hit six of nine free throws over a two-minute span to expand their advantage to 65-50 with 2:11 to play.
Virginia, forced by injuries and transfers to go with just six scholarship players and several walk-ons, trailed just 30-27 at halftime after being down by as many as 10 points early.
Wake Forest used a 11-2 run to open the second half capped by a Robert O'Kelley 3-pointer to make it 41-29 lead with 15:35 to go. The Demon Deacons kept the lead in double digits until the Cavaliers (9-5, 0-2 ACC) made a brief comeback bid with under five minutes to go.
Donald Hand's 3-pointer off a turnover brought the Cavaliers to within seven at 57-50 with 4:10 to play. But a Craig Dawson layup and six free throws put the game out of reach.
Both teams struggled from the field - Wake Forest shot 39 percent, while Virginia shot 36 percent - but the Demon Deacons hit 26 of 34 (77 percent) free throws, including 10 of 12 in the final 5:07.
The Cavaliers, the second-best free-throw shooting team in the ACC, went two of nine from the foul line. They also struggled from 3-point range, hitting just five of 29 shots. Wake Forest also dominated the boards 49-29.
Hand led the Cavaliers with 13 points while Chezley Watson scored 11. Guard Adam Hall came off the bench to score 10 points, but leading scorer Chris Williams, who came in averaging 19.7 points a game, was held to just nine points.
