Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Gonzaga
Demon Deacons Fall To Gonzaga 73-63
1/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2011
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The win was the sixth-straight for the Bulldogs who improve to 10-5 on the season while the loss drops the Demon Deacons to 6-8 on year.
Gonzaga's Steven Gray was one of four Bulldogs to score in double-figures with a game-high 18 points. Gray was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and also grabbed five rebounds to go along with five assists. Robert Sacre and Elias Harris each finished with 13 points for the Zags while Mathis Keita chipped-in with 12 points.
For the Deacs, freshman Travis McKie led the way with 16 points on 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Fellow freshman J.T. Terrell was 7-of-7 from the free throw line and finished with 14 points as senior Gary Clark was 2-of-3 from long range to finish with 13 points.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Bulldogs took control early in the second half and dominated in the paint to eventually pull-away down the stretch. Gonzaga outscored the Deacs 42-16 in the paint and won the battle on the boards 40-29.
The Bulldogs also shot the ball well, finishing the game 26-of-52 (50 percent) from the floor while holding the Deacons to their lowest shooting percentage of the season at 19-of-56 (34 percent).
Gonzaga started the game with an early five-point lead at 10-5 after a steal and lay-in by Steven Gray. But the Deacs battled-back and took their first lead of the game on a lay-up by Nikita Mescheriakov off a nice feed from Clark. After a Bulldog miss on the other end, Clark brought the crowd to its feet with a baseline jumper on the ensuing fastbreak to give Wake an 18-15 advantage at the 10:00 minute mark.
Wake took its largest lead of the first half at 22-17 after four-straight points from Terrell. Gonzaga then evened the score at 24-24 but that's when McKie took over. The Richmond, Va., native scored 13-straight Demon Deacon points which included eight free throws, a three-pointer and a dunk on the fastbreak. The lead would change hands four times in the final six minutes of the half and the Bulldogs would take a slim 36-35 lead into the locker room.
McKie led all scorers with 15 points and three rebounds at the break. Terrell was 5-of-5 from the free throw and had seven points while Clark was 1-of-2 from long range for five points. Gray and Keita led the Zags with eight points apiece.
Gonzaga had the hot hand early in the second half and built an eight-point lead at 46-38 just three and a half minutes in. After the Deacons cut the lead to six, back-to-back three-pointers by Gray pushed the Bulldog lead to 13 at 62-49 with just under nine minutes to play.
The Deacons wouldn't go quietly as a Ty Walker coast-to-coast lay-in sparked a 9-0 Wake Forest run. Terrell added a pair of free throws and then Clark scored on a driving lay-in to bring the Deacs within seven at 62-55. Terrell then capped the run with a three-pointer from the left wing to electrify the crowd and cut the lead to four at 62-58 with 4:47 to go.
Gonzaga then put the game away with a 9-1 run of its own which extended the lead back out to 12 at 71-59. Sacre had five big points during the spurt. Clark canned his second three of the afternoon in the waning seconds but the Bulldogs would salt away a 73-63 victory.
The Deacons will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 5, when they host High Point. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Joel Coliseum.
