Basketball Gameday - Wake Forest vs. UNC Wilmington
12/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| Wake Forest vs. UNC Wilmington Sunday, Dec. 12 | Greensboro, N.C. | Greensboro Coliseum |
Wake Forest Game Notes  | UNCW Game Notes | Live Stats | Radio: Listen Live | TV: MASN | Tickets |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will get its second look at the Greensboro Coliseum, site of the 2011 ACC Tournament, when the Demon Deacons take on the UNC Wilmington Seahawks on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be televised by MASN and can also be heard on the Wake Forest Sports Network from IMG College.
The Demon Deacons (5-3) are coming off a 75-64 defeat of Holy Cross last Saturday in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest posted its third-straight win before heading into a week-long break for fall semester final exams.
Travis McKie led the Deacons with 18 points and 11 rebounds, marking his third double-double of the year. Gary Clark and C.J. Harris each scored 16 points, while Ari Stewart chipped in 11 points to push his double-figure scoring streak to six games.
With classes and exams in the rear view mirror, the Deacons can now focus their attention solely on basketball for a few weeks. Spring semester classes at Wake Forest do not begin until Jan. 12. The Deacons will play eight games before resuming classes for the spring.
UNC Wilmington (3-4, 0-1 Colonial) is also coming off a week-long break. The Seahawks suffered an 80-52 loss at CAA-rival George Mason last Saturday. UNCW is under the direction of first-year head coach Buzz Peterson, who has never faced the Deacons in five previous head coaching stops.
Wake Forest has won all 12 of its prior meetings with UNCW. The teams are playing for the third straight season. The Deacons won last year's meeting, picking up an 80-69 victory at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington.
Deacons to Play Three Games in Seven Days
After a seven-day layoff for final exams, the Deacons will be thrust back into action this week with three games in seven days, including a trip to Cincinnati to take on Xavier. Wake faces UNCW on Sunday, UNCG on Wednesday and Xavier on Saturday.
Last Time Out
Four Demon Deacons scored in double figures, led by Travis McKie's 18 points, as Wake Forest defeated Holy Cross 75-64 on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Joel Coliseum.
| STATISTICAL COMPARISON | ||
| Wake | UNCW | |
| Overall Record | 5-3 | 3-4 |
| Conference Record | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Scoring Offense | 75.8 | 62.0 |
| Scoring Defense | 73.0 | 73.3 |
| Scoring Margin | +2.8 | -11.3 |
| Rebounding Offense | 36.5 | 33.0 |
| Rebounding Defense | 38.0 | 36.6 |
| Rebound Margin | -1.5 | -3.6 |
| FG Percentage | .460 | .439 |
| 3-pt FG Percentage | .440 | .391 |
| FT Percentage | .771 | .692 |
| FG Percentage Defense | .420 | .444 |
| 3-Pointers Per Game | 7.4 | 7.1 |
| Assists Ger Game | 12.8 | 12.3 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 17.4 | 17.3 |
| Turnover Margin | -4.6 | -5.4 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Steals Per Game | 5.5 | 4.6 |
| Blocked Shots Per Game | 7.6 | 3.0 |
McKie led all scorers with 18 points and also had a game-high 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double for the third time this season.
Gary Clark, who made his first start since the Nov. 15 game against Hampton, scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
Clark started in place of J.T. Terrell, who came off the bench after arriving late to the team's shootaround that morning. Terrell finished with six points and a season-high four rebounds.
C.J. Harris finished with 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, while classmate Ari Stewart chipped in 11 points on the afternoon to push his double-figure scoring streak to six games.
As a team, Wake Forest shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) from the field, 5-of-12 (41.%) from 3-point range and 14-of-20 (70%) from the free throw line. The Deacons also out-rebounded Holy Cross, 37-28.
Neither team led by more than nine points until a 15-3 run midway through the second half left Wake Forest with a 49-36 lead. The game remained close for most of the second half, but a 3-pointer from Ari Stewart with 1:43 remaining sealed the win for the Deacons by giving them a 69-60 advantage.
From Hitting The Books To Hitting The Hardwood
The Demon Deacons will enjoy a little bit lighter load on Sunday after finishing up final exams last week. Wake Forest, which last played on Dec. 4 against Holy Cross, has been off for seven days to focus on the team's fall semester final exams.
The Deacons have traditionally fared well in the game following final exams, winning eight of 10 such contests since 2000-01. Last season, Wake Forest had a seven-day break before defeating Elon, 90-50, on Dec. 13.
Spring semester classes begin at Wake Forest University on Wednesday, Jan. 12.
Mescheriakov Set to Make Deacon Debut
Redshirt junior transfer Nikita Mescheriakov is set to make his Deacon debut on Sunday against UNC Wilmington. The Minsk, Belarus, native has had to sit out since transferring to Wake Forest at the beginning of the spring 2010 semester.
The left-handed forward has been practicing with the Deacons since his arrival and is expected to make an immediate contribution at forward.
Mescheriakov transferred from Georgetown University prior to the spring semester last season. He played in 30 games with eight starts at Georgetown. As a redshirt freshman in 2008-09, Mescheriakov averaged 2.7 points and started the final nine games of the year.
What's Up Next...
Following the UNCW game, the Deacons will face Triad-rival UNC Greensboro on Wednesday, Dec. 15. The Spartans have not played at the Joel Coliseum since the 1999-2000 season. Wake is 5-0 all-time against UNCG.
The Spartans are 0-8 (0-2 SoCon) following Wednesday's loss at Maryland. UNCG is off until its game at Wake Forest.
Following the UNCG game, Wake Forest will play its first true road game of the season when the Deacons take on Xavier on Saturday, Dec. 18, in the second annual Skip Prosser Classic at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
The Deacons won the inaugural event, 96-92 in double overtime, last season in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is 1-1 all-time against Xavier, who is 5-2 on the season.
Wake Forest at the Greensboro Coliseum
Wake Forest is 68-80 all-time at the Greensboro Coliseum, which was opened in 1959. The Deacons have won five of their last seven games at the venue since the 2005-06 season.
Wake Forest played select home games at the venue from 1960-89, prior to the construction of the Joel Coliseum. The Deacons went 54-72 in Greensboro before the Joel opened for the 1989-90 season.
The Deacons lost their first four games at the arena before picking up their first win there over Navy in 1963-64.
Wake Forest had a two-year stretch from 1983-84 where it went 15-5 in Greensboro. The Deacons lost 11 straight games at the arena from 1985-87. Wake was just two games under .500 (50-52) at the venue before the losing streak.
Wake Forest's last "home" game in Greensboro came during the 2000 Postseason NIT when the Deacons defeated California to advance to the final four in New York.
Wake last played a regular season home game in Greensboro in 1994-95 when No. 6-ranked Florida upended the No. 21-ranked Deacons on Dec. 3.
The Deacons are 16-20 in ACC Tournament games played at the Greensboro Coliseum. Wake Forest won back-to-back ACC titles at the venue in 1995 and 1996.
Freshmen Leading Deacons in Scoring
With a young and relatively inexperienced roster, it's no surprise that Wake Forest's top two scorers are freshmen. Guard J.T. Terrell leads the Deacons with 14.3 points per game, and forward Travis McKie is not far behind with 14.0 ppg.
Terrell and McKie are two of only three freshmen ranked in the top 20 in the ACC in scoring. Duke's Kyrie Irving ranks fourth (17.4), Terrell ninth and McKie 12th.
Terrell has led the Deacons in scoring in three games, including a 32-point performance against Iowa on Nov. 30. Terrell's 32 points are the most by an ACC player this season.
McKie has led Wake in scoring four times and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. He also has three double-doubles on the year to rank sixth in the ACC.
The last time the Deacons had two rookies as their leading scorers was during the 2007-08 season. Forward James Johnson led Wake with 14.6 ppg, while guard Jeff Teague was second with 13.9 ppg.
