Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
North Carolina Central
Wake Forest Downs North Carolina Central, 75-58
11/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2007
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- L.D. Williams scored 14 points to lead Wake Forest to a 75-58 victory over North Carolina Central on Monday night.
Jamie Skeen added 13 points and James Johnson had 12 for the Demon Deacons (2-0), who never trailed, forced 27 turnovers and led by 27 before coasting through the second half of Dino Gaudio's second victory as their coach.
Wake Forest, which had nine days off following its Nov. 9 season-opening victory over Fairfield, shot 46 percent and had trouble from long distance, making just 4-of-21 attempts from 3-point range and missing all but one of their six second-half shots from beyond the arc.
The Demon Deacons led by 23 points at the break and then seemed to lose focus, allowing N.C. Central to pull as close as 16 points in the second half -- the final time when Philip Branch's basket with about 7 minutes left made it 64-48. N.C. Central outscored Wake Forest 35-29 in the half.
Joshua Worthy had 16 points, one-time football player Charles Futrell had 14 and Bryan Ayala scored 11 for the Eagles (0-5), who set a season high in scoring despite playing their fifth road game in an 11-day span.
The first-year Division I program's brutal stretch included routs at No. 13 Duke, at No. 25 Florida and, two days earlier, at North Dakota State. During the road trek N.C. Central allowed three opponents to score at least 100 points, failed to score more than 56 in any previous game and averaged 22 turnovers.
Early on, they were no match for a Wake Forest program that under Gaudio has rededicated itself to defense. The Eagles turned it over on their first four trips down the court, and at one point late in the half had as many turnovers (15) as points.
Jeff Teague's running jumper from the left baseline at the buzzer gave the Demon Deacons a 46-23 halftime lead, their largest advantage of the half.
