Wake Forest University
NC State
Demon Deacons Drop Road Contest, 87-76, to NC State
2/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
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RALEIGH, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's basketball team fought back from a nine point halftime deficit, but could never reclaim its early lead against NC State as the Demon Deacons fell 87-76 at the RBC Center on Saturday, February 4.
With the loss, the Deacs drop to 11-12 overall and 2-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. NC State improves to 17-7 and 6-3 in the conference.
Junior guard C.J. Harris was one of five Deacons in double figures, pacing the Deacs with 21 points and extending his double-digit scoring streak to 22 games. He was aided by 13 points from sophomore forward Travis McKie and a career-high-tying 12 point effort from Ty Walker, who also added five boards and two blocks - the senior center has had at least two blocks in eight straight games.
Sophomore guard Tony Chennault contributed in multiple categories, posting nine points, tying a career-high with six assists and setting a new personal best in rebounds with seven while freshman Chase Fischer closed the night with 11 points and senior Nikita Mescheriakov chipped in with 10 points.
The Deacs jumped out to a 4-0 lead early on an offensive rebound and put back by Mescheriakov and a nifty jump hook by Walker. Nearly three minutes into the contest, Chennault canned a three pointer from the corner to make it a 7-2 WFU advantage.
NC State reclaimed the lead over the next 2:06 with a 12-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back three-pointers by C.J. Williams and Wood.
Mescheriakov stopped the Wolfpack spurt at the 14:40 mark with a spinning left-handed hook on the baseline. One minute later, the Deacs drew back within three, 14-11, on a goaltending call.
The two squads traded buckets on their following possessions, but a jumper by Walker and three by Fischer knotted the score, 18-18, at the 11:31 mark.
NC State led 22-21 when the Deacs took off on an 8-0 run, highlighted by the heady play of Fischer who swished a three and made a fantastic entry pass to a wide open Harris under the bucket for an easy lay-in.
With Wake Forest up by seven, 29-22, and rallying, Wood stepped up to can back-to-back-to-back three pointers to single handedly bring the Wolfpack back to a two point lead.
The junior forward was sizzling from beyond the arc in the half, knocking down five total triples to finish the opening half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He finished the day with 23 points to lead all scorers.
NC State's hot shooting translated to a nine point deficit at the half for Wake Forest, 42-33, despite shooting 50 percent from the floor and converting 5-of-9 from three-point range.
The Deacs scored first, just over a minute out of the locker room on a fast break layup by Harris.
McKie extended the Deacs' run to an 11-4 with 16:04 to play and cut the Wolfpack lead down to two, 46-44.
Just over a minute later, Wake Forest crept to within one on a Harris trey from the top of the key. With 13:30 to go, Chennault found McKie on a drive and dish three to even the score at 50.
Wake would never regain the lead, however, and a 13-2 run for NC State put the Pack back up comfortably with under 10 to play.
WFU finally halted the charge on a three from the left wing by Fischer and Harris staged one last rally to pull the Deacs within five at the 6:28 mark.
NC State kept the game out of reach down the stretch, however, eventually pulling ahead to its largest lead, 80-66, with just 3:47 to play.
Next up for the Deacons will be another road trip, this time to Charlottesville, Va. to face Virginia on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Wake Forest will be hoping to extend a six game winning streak in the series dating back to the 2006-07 season.
