| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Wake Forest knew coming to Richmond early
in the season was a gamble, and while the Spiders lived up to their
reputation as a giant killer, the Demon Deacons didn't become
another victim.
Craig Dawson's turnaround jumper with 1:33 left stopped a
3½-minute scoring drought for the Deacons (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) Monday night,
squelching a furious Richmond rally and giving Wake Forest a 69-61
victory.
"History tells us that Richmond always plays well at home and
always plays well against teams like ourselves," Odom said. "We
came up fully prepared and fully knowing it was going to be a
difficult game."
Wake Forest, which beat Mount St. Mary's and Air Force by an
average of 43.5 points in its first two games, led by as many as 13
early in the second half before Greg Stevenson and the Spiders got
hot, twice closing to within two, but never getting even in a
rumbling arena.
"It's a difficult team to play when you've got size," Odom
said of the Spiders, who took 33 3-point shots and 23 2-pointers.
"They're basically playing five guys on the perimeter. It's tough
on your defense."
Dawson led the Demon Deacons with 16 points, Josh Howard had 14,
Robert O'Kelley 13 and Darius Songaila 12. Josh Shoemaker had 14
rebounds, helping the Deacons to a 38-23 advantage on the boards.
Richmond may have lost it when it got outscored 21-3 over the
last 8½ minutes of the half, turning a 22-13 lead into a 34-25
deficit.
The Spiders (1-1) got 21 points from Stevenson, 13 in the final
10:47, and 17 from Reggie Brown. Brown made five 3-pointers and
Stevenson three.
The Spiders trailed by as many as 13 early in the second half,
but Stevenson's baseline dunk drew them within 61-59 with 2:43
left.
After Dawson's turnaround in the lane, Stevenson hit an
18-footer to again cut it to two, but O'Kelley's free throws
restored the margin.
"They just played very well and had somebody step up every time
to hit a big shot, or when we missed a box out on the offensive
end, they put it back in or got another opportunity," Stevenson
said.
The Spiders seemed determined to take out the Demon Deacons
early, bolting to a 15-4 lead after 6:40 behind three 3-pointers,
two by Brown.
Without elaborating, Odom said the early deficit was his fault.
"My team bailed me out tonight, and I told them that," he
said.
Songaila scored eight points in the half-ending 21-3 run, and
made a steal and fed O'Kelley for the go-ahead layup with 5:32 to
play.
| |
ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Wake Forest Clubhouse
Richmond Clubhouse
|
