No. 6 Wake Forest Downs Radford
12/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2000
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Josh Howard had a career-high 22 points and No. 6 Wake Forest kept its defensive streak alive in a 92-52 victory over Radford on Monday night.
The Demon Deacons (9-0) held its 16th straight opponent under 40 percent shooting to win their 14th straight dating to last season's NIT championship run - the second-longest winning streak in the country. Michigan State has won 19 in a row.
Howard, who also had five steals, was 7-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from the foul line as Wake Forest scored 52 second-half points.
Darius Songaila added a season-high 18 points and Craig Dawson 16 for the Demon Deacons. Dawson, the team's leading scorer at 15 points a game, rebounded from a 1-for-7 shooting game Saturday night to go 6-for-7.
Howard's previous high was 21 two games ago in a 31-point victory over Kansas.
The Highlanders (4-5), playing for the first time in 10 days, saw their three-game winning streak end, shooting 37 percent, going 3-for-25 from 3-point range and turning it over 26 times.
Audrey Savtchenko led Radford with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Wake Forest's winning streak is also the best in Dave Odom's 12 years with the program. The 1996-97 team, led by Tim Duncan, won its first 13 games of the season.
Wake Forest led by 10 early in the second half before going on a 19-5 run as six different players scored. Dawson's 3-pointer with 13:47 left pushed the score to 59-35 and Radford never got closer.
Radford missed its first 11 3-pointers, but trimmed a 17-point first-half deficit to eight and had the ball with less than a minute left in the half. Williams then lost it to Howard, who hit two free throws and made a fastbreak layup in the final 34 seconds as Wake Forest went up 12 at the break.
The Demon Deacons started slow against Radford's full-court press, turning it over on their first three possessions. But the Highlanders went cold from the field and Wake Forest used a 27-6 run to take control of the game.