Wake Forest University
Notre Dame
Deacons Upended by No. 25 Notre Dame, 85-62
1/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@TieDyeNation)
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Despite a 20-point performance from Bryant Crawford and 19 points from Devin Thomas, the Wake Forest men's basketball team fell, 85-62, on the road to No. 25 Notre Dame at the Purcell Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Deacons fell to 10-11 on the year with a 1-8 ledger in the ACC. The Deacs were unable to snap a season-long losing skid, which was extended to six games. The Fighting Irish were their fourth-consecutive ranked opponent.
The Irish never trailed in the game after quickly jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The Demon Deacons remained within striking distance of the hosts through the first 10 minutes of the game, but Notre Dame created separation with a 14-3 run that stretched its advantage to 35-18.
Heading into the break, the Irish led by a 46-29 margin, despite 17 points from Crawford. Crawford and Thomas were the only Deacs to score in the game's first 17 minutes.
Notre Dame shot 57.1 percent on 16-of-28 shooting from the floor and was also aided by a 20-10 rebounding advantage in the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, Wake Forest's Konstantinos Mitoglou opened play with a dunk and a made jumper to cut the deficit to 13 points, but that was as close as the Demon Deacons would get as 12 points and five rebounds from Zach Auguste in the second half helped guide the Irish to a 23-point win.
Auguste posted a double-double, leading Notre Dame with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Four other UND players reached double figures in points. In addition to his 19 points, Thomas led the visitors with eight rebounds and five assists. The assist total tied a career high for the Harrisburg, Pa. native.
Wake Forest returns home on Tuesday to play Clemson. Opening tip is slated for 8 p.m. on the ACC Network. The Demon Deacons will then host Florida State on Saturday at noon.
CRAWFORD SCORES 20
• Bryant Crawford finished Sunday's game with a team-leading 20 points. He led the team in scoring for the 11th time this season.
• Crawford, who set a career best with 22 points against Virginia on Tuesday, became the first Deacon freshman to score 20 or more points in back-to-back ACC contests since Travis McKie accomplished the feat in 2010-11.
• The scoring output for Crawford gave him his 14th double-figure scoring game and his fourth contest with 20 or more points.
• The Silver Spring, Md. native's four 3-pointers were his most in ACC play.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
• Wake Forest went into Sunday's game with the nation's toughest schedule, according to the Sagarin Ratings, the ESPN BPI and by KenPom.
• The Demon Deacons played four-consecutive top-25 opponents for the first time since the end of the 1972-73 season.
• The Deacs are now 1-8 against ranked foes this season. Their nine games against such teams are their most since they faced 10 in 2005-06 and are the most before the end of January in program history.
SERIES HISTORY
• After Sunday's loss, Wake Forest leads the all-time series between the schools, 3-2.
• Since Notre Dame joined the ACC, the home team has won all three regular-season meetings in the series.
ALSO OF NOTE
• Demon Deacon redshirt junior Gilbert McGregor made one of his two free throws late in the second half to record the first point of his Wake Forest career. He Averaged 1.6 points per game at Division II Newberry College before transferring to Wake.
• Trent VanHorn tied a career high and set a new career high in ACC play with three rebounds. Rondale Watson also had three boards, matching his ACC career best.
• All five Notre Dame starters had 10 or more points. The Irish became the first Wake Forest opponent this season to have all five starters reach double figures. Richmond (Nov. 18) was the only other Deacon foe to have five players reach double digits in points this season.
