Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Drops ACC Tournament Opener
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 1999
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina State crawled out of an early offensive hole with clutch shooting down the stretch for a 66-52 victory over Wake Forest in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Friday.
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The fifth-seeded Wolfpack (18-12) lost to the Demon Deacons (16-13) by 29 points five days ago in Winston-Salem, but got some revenge and will now face top-seeded and No. 1 Duke on Saturday in one semifinal.
Justin Gainey led the Wolfpack, which has won its most games since going 20-11 in 1990-91, with 15 points, while Rafael Vidaurreta paced the Demon Deacons with 15.
Wake Forest couldn't put the Wolfpack away early after N.C. State went the first 7:56 without a basket. The Demon Deacons paid dearly for it in the end, the loss severely hurting their NCAA postseason chances.
Robert O'Kelley, tied for third in the ACC in scoring at 17.4 points a game and averaging 22.4 over his last four, had a miserable day for Wake Forest, turning the ball over nine times in the first half alone and finishing with a season-low five points before fouling out.
The Demon Deacons also had to deal without their leading scorer for a crucial part of the second half after he left the game with 11:18 remaining with a twisted right knee.
N.C. State took its first lead of the game with 17:08 left on a follow shot by Damon Thornton. The lead changed hands six more times before a 3-pointer by Gainey with 7:30 left put the Wolfpack up for good, 46-45.
Gainey's basket was part of a 15-3 run that sealed the win for the Wolfpack, who sank eight straight free throws over the final 1:20.
The Wolfpack started 0-for-12 from the field and missed 19 of its first 21 shots to fall behind 21-7 before Wake Forest's offense also began to sputter.
The last basket of the first half for Wake Forest with 9:58 left was actually a mistake - a tip-in rebound by Thornton of the Wolfpack, who was trying to avoid one of his teammates who had fallen on the floor.
Wake Forest's dry spell allowed N.C. State to slowly claw back into the game, and Anthony Grundy's 3-pointer 21 seconds before intermission knotted the score at 27-27.
The Demon Deacons did manage eight free throws over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the period, but went 0-for-5 from the field with seven turnovers. O'Kelley had nine of Wake Forest's 13 first-half turnovers.
