Wake Forest University
Virginia Tech
Demon Deacons Drop Road Decision at Va. Tech
2/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2010
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BLACKSBURG, Va. - Wake Forest let an 11-point second half lead slip away as the Demon Deacons dropped an 87-83 decision at Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.
Wake Forest, ranked No. 23 by the Associated Press, led 61-50 with 12:31 to play in the game following a fast break basket by freshman Ari Stewart.
With the Deacons leading 61-54 with just under 12 minutes remaining, Virginia Tech's Dorenzo Hudson finished off a fast break with a slam dunk that ignited the Cassell Coliseum crowd of 9,847.
"That was a momentum-changing play," said Wake Forest head coach Dino Gaudio. "We just didn't get stops when we needed them. We missed some critical free throws that might have helped."
Baskets by J.T. Thompson and Hudson pulled the Hokies to within three at 63-60. Wake Forest's Ish Smith hit a floater in the lane that put the Deacons back in front 65-61.
Malcolm Delaney, who led all scorers with 31 points, hit a three-pointer to close the gap to 65-64 with 8:54 remaining. Terrell Bell's free throw tied the game at 65.
The Deacons held their last lead at 74-73 on a driving dunk by L.D. Williams with 4:13 remaining. Delaney then hit a high bank shot and followed with a three-pointer to put the Hokies in front 78-74. A short jumper by Williams brought Wake Forest to within four at 80-76 with 2:23 to play.
Virginia Tech made five of eight free throws inside the last minute of play to keep the Deacons at bay.
Wake Forest led 40-32 at the half behind 21 points from Al-Farouq Aminu. Delaney scored 15 of his 31 points in the first half for the Hokies.
But Aminu finished the game with 25 points, attempting just three field goals after halftime. He finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.
The Deacons trailed 12-11 six minutes into the game before going on a 9-2 run to take a 20-14 lead with 10:43 to play in the half. Williams hit a three-pointer and Aminu had a pair of baskets and two field goals during the run.
The Deacons' top two big men, Chas McFarland and Tony Woods, were each hampered by foul problems throughout the night before fouling out. McFarland finished with eight points and five rebounds in 15 minutes while Woods had two points and a pair of boards in 14 minutes of action.
"We missed too many shots," said Gaudio. "When I look at rebounds, I don't look at total rebounds. They did kick our tail on the offensive boards. I really think that's a telling stat. Total rebounds mean nothing to me, but when you have (Virginia Tech's) Terrell Bell get seven offensive (rebounds) that is a telling number."
Wake Forest was outrebounded 47-38 in the game and 19-15 on the offensive glass.
Smith finished with 18 points and eight assists for Wake Forest. Williams made nine of 11 field goals and scored 19 points. Hudson finished with 21 points for Virginia Tech.
"I told the guys (in the locker room) that we have to be a tough-minded group. We have to come back to practice on Wednesday and correct some of our deficiencies before playing another tough ACC road game (at NC State)."
Wake Forest is 18-6 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. Virginia Tech improved to 21-4 overall and 8-3 in conference play. The Hokies improved to 14-0 at home this season.
The Deacons will play at NC State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
