Wake Forest University
Georgia Tech
Wake Forest Loses To Georgia Tech, 74-39
1/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2011
ATLANTA - Wake Forest saw the return of injured point guard Tony Chennault, but the Demon Deacons came up short in a 74-39 loss at Georgia Tech on Wednesday evening at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
With the loss, the Deacons fall to 7-12 overall and 0-4 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets move to 9-8 overall and 2-2 in conference play with the win.
The bright spot for Wake Forest was the return of Chennault, who had missed the previous 17 games after breaking his foot in the season opener on Nov. 12. Chennault finished the night with three points on 1-of-3 shooting in 15 minutes.
Ty Walker tied a career-high with eight rebounds on the night while setting a new career-high with five offensive boards. Ari Stewart led the Demon Deacons with nine points, and Travis McKie chipped in eight.
Wake Forest hurt itself with an uncharacteristic performance from the free throw line, shooting 34.6 percent (9-for-26).
Georgia Tech shot 41.3 percent from the floor for the game and was led by Glen Rice and Iman Shumpert who had 21 and 20 points, respectively.
The teams traded punches in the first few minutes of the game until the Yellow Jackets created some separation with the first extended run of the night. With Wake Forest holding a 7-6 lead after a Travis McKie jumper at the 16:56 mark, Georgia Tech used a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 15-9 advantage. Ari Stewart's long jumper at the 12:49 mark stopped the scoreless drought for the Deacons.
Stewart's three-point play on a fastbreak dunk pulled Wake to within five, 17-12, three minutes later. However, the Jackets responded with seven straight points to begin a 20-4 run over a span of six minutes. Georgia Tech led 37-16 before Carson Desrosiers' three-point play at the 3:27 mark of the first half.
Desrosier's bucket and free throw spurred a quick 7-0 run by the Deacons, which pulled the visitors to 37-23 with just over two minutes to play in the period. The Yellow Jackets closed the half with a 7-3 run to take a 44-26 lead into the break.
Georgia Tech opened the second half with seven straight points to push its lead to 51-26. Wake Forest could not get closer than 24 the rest of the way.
The Deacons lead the all-time series with the Yellow Jackets, 36-34, but Wake Forest has lost seven straight in Atlanta. Georgia Tech will make the return trip to Winston-Salem on March 3 for an 8 p.m. game at the Joel Coliseum.
Wake Forest returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 22, when the Deacons host No. 4-ranked Duke. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and can also be heard on the Wake Forest Sports Network from IMG College.
