Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Demon Deacons Fall to Tar Heels
2/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2010
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A career-high 16 points from Leslie McDonald earned North Carolina a 77-68 victory over Wake Forest at Joel Coliseum and a split in the season series. The Demon Deacons defeated the Tar Heels 82-69 in Chapel Hill earlier in the year.
Wake Forest has now lost three games in a row and falls to 18-8 (8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). UNC improves to 15-14 (4-10).
The teams went back and forth in an opening period that featured four ties and 10 lead changes. The Deacons led by as many as four points, but a late surge by UNC sent the Tar Heels into the locker room with a 32-28 halftime lead.
Wake Forest rallied back to tie the game 41-41 on a 3-pointer from Ari Stewart with 15:07 remaining, but North Carolina put together a 16-6 run to take a 57-47 lead with seven minutes to go.
Jumpers from Ari Stewart and Ishmael Smith brought the Deacons within four points with under two minutes left in the game, but the Tar Heels made their free throws in the last minute to seal the victory.
Wake Forest shot a season-low 29.7 percent from the field compared to 40 percent shooting from North Carolina. The Deacons did manage to outscore the Tar Heels 15-2 on the fast break.
In addition to his 16 points, McDonald grabbed four rebounds. Will Graves scored 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting.
Stewart broke out of his recent funk to score 16 points, his most of the ACC season, and also pulled down seven rebounds. Smith scored 12 points, all in the second half, and dished out seven assists.
L.D. Williams had 14 points and nine boards. He now sits 20 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
The Demon Deacons will return to action when they travel to Florida State to take on the Seminoles on March 3 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and can also be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Sports Radio network.
