Wake Forest University
Richmond
Wake Men's Basketball Defeat Richmond, 69-61
11/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2000
No. 17 Wake Forest 69, Richmond 61
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
RICHMOND, Va. - Wake Forest knew coming to Richmond early in the season was a gamble, and while the Spiders lived up to their reputation as a giant killer, the Demon Deacons didn't become another victim.
Craig Dawson's turnaround jumper with 1:33 left stopped a 3 1/2-minute scoring drought for the No. 17 Deacons on Monday night, squelching a furious Richmond rally and giving Wake Forest a 69-61 victory.
"History tells us that Richmond always plays well at home and always plays well against teams like ourselves," Odom said. "We came up fully prepared and fully knowing it was going to be a difficult game."
Wake Forest, which beat Mount St. Mary's and Air Force by an average of 43.5 points in its first two games, led by as many as 13 early in the second half before Greg Stevenson and the Spiders got hot, twice closing to within two, but never getting even in a rumbling arena.
"It's a difficult team to play when you've got size," Odom said of the Spiders, who took 33 3-point shots and 23 2-pointers. "They're basically playing five guys on the perimeter. It's tough on your defense."
Dawson led the Demon Deacons with 16 points, Josh Howard had 14, Robert O'Kelley 13 and Darius Songaila 12. Josh Shoemaker had 14 rebounds, helping the Deacons to a 38-23 advantage on the boards.
Richmond, may have lost it when it got outscored 21-3 over the last 8 1/2 minutes of the half, turning a 22-13 lead into a 34-25 deficit.
The Spiders (1-1) got 21 points from Stevenson, 13 in the final 10:47, and 17 from Reggie Brown. Brown made five 3-pointers and Stevenson three.
The Spiders trailed by as many as 13 early in the second half, but Stevenson's baseline dunk drew them within 61-59 with 2:43 left.
After Dawson's turnaround in the lane, Stevenson hit an 18-footer to again cut it to two, but O'Kelley's free throws restored the margin.
"They just played very well and had somebody step up every time to hit a big shot, or when we missed a box out on the offensive end, they put it back in or got another opportunity," Stevenson said.
The Spiders seemed determined to take out the Demon Deacons early, bolting to a 15-4 lead after 6:40 behind three 3-pointers, two by Brown.
Without elaborating, Odom said the early deficit was his fault.
"My team bailed me out tonight, and I told them that," he said.
Songaila scored eight points in the half-ending 21-3 run, and made a steal and fed O'Kelley for the go-ahead layup with 5:32 to play.
