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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- It was clear five minutes into its
season opener that No. 18 Wake Forest wouldn't be tested. So, the
Demon Deacons accepted a challenge from coach Dave Odom.
Arguably the deepest team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Wake
Forest unveiled is arsenal of athletic and speedy players in the
opening round of the Black Coaches Association Classic and beat
Mount St. Mary's 108-61 Thursday night.
Odom gave his team an A-plus grade for staying focused in the
lopsided game.
"When you are not challenged as it relates to the score, your
focus sometimes disappears or your attention span wonders," Odom
said. "The only challenge I gave our team was to stay focused for
40 minutes. I really jammed that home at them at halftime. I was
very pleased."
Wake Forest will take on Air Force, which beat Houston 59-53
earlier Thursday, in the title game Friday.
The normally deliberate offense of the Demon Deacons was nearly
non-existent as Odom had his team running an up-tempo attack from
the opening tip, getting four dunks in its first nine baskets and
11 overall.
"I don't take a great deal of pleasure out of a score like
this, but the flip side of that is I do take a lot of pleasure in
that our team was ready to play," Odom said.
The point total matched the most in Odom's 12 years as Wake
Forest coach and broke the Joel Coliseum record for winning margin.
The previous best was 44 against High Point last season.
"We weren't really ready for this prime-time stuff," Mount St.
Mary's coach Jim Phelan said. "I anticipate they're going to have
a very good year."
Antwan Scott led the way with a career-high 20 points, while
Craig Dawson added 18 as eight players logged at least 16 minutes.
Josh Howard and Robert O'Kelley each added 17 points as Wake Forest
shot 70 percent.
"We're feeling good right now and we feel like we can beat
anybody," O'Kelley said. "You want to play hard and stay focused,
but you also want to have fun and I think we had fun tonight. We
played together and good things happened for us."
Jerry Lloyd led the Mountaineers with 16 points in 22 minutes.
Ervin Murray, Wake Forest's point guard, didn't start and saw
limited action as he eases his way back into shape after a
preseason bout of mononucleosis.
But the Demon Deacons didn't miss a beat behind backup Broderick
Hicks, who finished with seven points, five assists and two
turnovers.
Rafael Vidaurreta, Wake Forest's center and one of five
returning starters from the NIT champions of last season, also is recovering from a knee injury and didn't play.
Phelan was seeking his 810th victory in his NCAA-record 47th
year of coaching at one school, but his club was down 31 at the
half and never really in the game. The Mountaineers are 2-13 in
season openers since moving to Division I-A in 1988-89.
"I would have liked to have had this record somewhere else to
be perfectly honest with you," Phelan said.
The Demon Deacons came out determined to put on a show after
the late-season success of last year, making their first five shots and
building a double-digit lead five minutes in.
Wake Forest started 12-for-14 from the field and closed the half
hitting 65.6 percent.
Odom even used his walk-ons late in the first half, and the lead
reached 40 with 14 minutes remaining. Wake Forest hit 100 points on
a jumper by Scott with 5:20 left.
"They are going to be a real force in the ACC," Phelan said.
"I know Duke, North Carolina and Maryland are ranked ahead of
them, but I think if Wake plays at the top of its game they're
going to be able to play with any of these people."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Mount Saint Mary's Clubhouse
Wake Forest Clubhouse
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