Wake Forest University
Richmond
No. 22 Demon Deacons Hold Off Spiders, 47-40
12/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2005
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Justin Gray scored 21 points and Eric Williams added 13 as No. 22 Wake Forest held off a second-half rally by Richmond for a 47-40 victory Thursday night.
It was the fewest points in a victory for Wake Forest in modern school history. The previous record was in a 48-42 win over Maryland on Feb. 20, 1982.
The Demon Deacons (9-2) struggled against the stingiest defense in Division I, shooting just 30 percent against the Spiders' matchup zone. Richmond has held all 10 of its opponents under 60 points and entered the game giving up just 51.3 per game.
But the Spiders (5-5) continued to struggle in first-year coach Chris Mooney's Princeton offense, shooting just 26 percent. Kevin Steenberge had nine points for Richmond, which is averaging less than 50 points per game.
The Spiders were 2-of-17 from the field over the first 16:29 as Wake Forest built a 21-4 lead with the help of a four-point play by Gray and a three-point play by Michael Drum. But Richmond closed the half with a 10-0 run, hitting 6-of-6 from the line to make it 21-14.
Richmond tied the game at 34 on a 3-pointer by Oumar Sylla with just over 6 minutes left, but two free throws by Drum put Wake ahead to stay.
Williams hit both ends of a 1-and-1 before Sylla hit another 3 to cut the lead to 38-37. Richmond's Jermaine Bucknor, who was only 1-of-13 from the field, missed a 3-pointer that would have put the Spiders ahead. Gray then hit a 3 to make it 41-37.
Trent Strickland hit two free throws for Wake, but a 3-pointer by Drew Crank of Richmond made it 43-40.
Gray was 4-of-4 from the line in the final 26 seconds to seal the victory.
