Wake Forest University
NC State
Deacons Falter Against NC State in 80-55 Loss
2/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2011
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - NC State's Tracy Smith and C.J. Leslie combined for 39 points to lead the visiting Wolfpack to an 80-55 win over Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Smith scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting, and Leslie, coming off a one-game suspension, turned in 19 points for the the Wolfpack (13-11, 3-7 ACC). Both players pulled down eight rebounds.
Freshman Travis McKie led the Demon Deacons (8-17, 1-9 ACC) with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Freshmen J.T. Terrell and Tony Chennault added seven points apiece and junior Nikita Mescheriakov chipped in seven off the bench as well. Sophomore C.J. Harris dished out six assists and added six points and five rebounds.
The Deacons shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field and a solid 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line. Wake was just 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from 3-point range.
NC State shot a torrid 55.9 percent (33-for-59) from the field, including 40 percent (4-for-10) from 3-point range.
NC State's 14-2 run early in the second half proved to be the difference. The Wolfpack held a 37-29 advantage at halftime, but the Deacons cut it to four early in the period. State followed with a 14-2 run to take a 53-37 lead with 13:20 left in the game.
The Wolfpack got off to a strong start, beginning the game on an 8-0 run with four points from Smith before Carson Desrosiers scored Wake's first points on a layup with 17:03 remaining in the half.
After a 3-pointer from McKie at the 11:14 mark, the Deacs pulled within four, 19-15. NC State quickly responded with five points from DeShawn Painter and Leslie to make it 24-17 with 7:50 remaining.
Wake Forest came within two once again, 31-29, after a 6-0 run. A reverse layup from McKie at the 2:40 mark was the highlight of the run, but a layups from Leslie and Smith built the lead back to six with 1:33 to play.
NC State finished the half on a 6-0 run after J.T. Terrell was unable to get off a three-pointer before the buzzer. The Wolfpack took a 37-29 lead into the locker room.
The Deacons came out firing in the second half, cutting the lead to just four, 39-35. NC State responded yet again, going on a 14-2 run to help build their first double-digit lead of the day, 53-37.
The Wolfpack grabbed their largest lead of the night, 76-53, at the 2:27 mark. Wake Forest was unable to close the gap to less than 20 the rest of the way.
The first half came to a bizarre end: N.C. State was taking out the ball on the baseline with about 3.5 seconds left, but the clock started prematurely and then stopped with 0.9 seconds left, when it was inbounded to Brown, who missed a 3 from the corner.
Wake Forest's players rushed off the court while Lowe objected, and after a review of about 10 minutes, the officials placed 2.6 seconds on the clock and gave the ball to the Demon Deacons on the alternate possession. Terrell then missed a shot from midcourt at the horn.
The Deacons wore gold uniforms for the third time this season and the first time for a home game since the 2008-09 season opener against N.C. Central.
Wake Forest will return to action on Tuesday night, Feb. 15, as they travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network and can also be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Network. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
