Wake Forest University
Boston College
Deacs Open ACC Tournament with 92-78 Win Over BC
3/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Final Stats (PDF) | Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@TieDyeNation)
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Wake Forest recorded its first ACC Tournament victory since 2014 in a 92-78 win over Boston College Tuesday afternoon at the Barclays Center in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.
The victory was the first win for the Demon Deacons in ACC Tournament play since an 81-69 win over Notre Dame in the first round of the 2014 tournament.
After sweeping Boston College in the regular season, Tuesday's game marked the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Demon Deacons recorded three wins in a season over an opponent.
Bryant Crawford recorded 20 points, thanks in large part to a 11-for-12 performance at the free throw line. Crawford has now recorded three 10+ free throw games this season.
Austin Arians finished with a season-high 17 points after going a season-best 5-for-7 from behind the arc. John Collins recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 boards while Keyshawn Woods added 17 points for the Demon Deacons.
The Demon Deacons shot 53.2 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from deep and 76.7 percent from the charity stripe on their way to the victory, marking their seventh 50-40-75 game of the season, a new school record.
Back-to-back triples from Arians gave the Demon Deacons (19-12) an early lead that they carried the rest of the half. The Deacs opened the contest hot behind the arc, scoring 12 of the first 15 points from the three and gaining an early 10-point advantage. However, Boston College (9-23) slowly chipped away at Wake Forest's lead and brought the score within two with just over six minutes remaining in the half. The Deacs limited the Eagles to 3-for-11 from the field in the final minutes to take a 44-38 advantage into the locker rooms. Arians finished the half with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc while Crawford totaled 11 points in the half, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
Boston College went on an early 7-0 run in the second half to tie the game at 53-all. The tie did not last long as the Deacs went on a run of their own and forced the Eagles to burn a timeout. The Deacs extended their streak to 14-1 before the Eagles could find the basket. The second half run gave the Deacs the breathing room they needed to cruise to the 92-78 victory.
The Demon Deacons have recorded 90 or more points for the eighth time this season, their most since eight in 2008-09.
With the victory, Wake Forest will advance to the second round of the ACC Tournament. The Demon Deacons will take on the No. 7 seed Virginia Tech on Wednesday, March 8. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
