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FSU takes care of Wake Forest, wins 5th straight

Jan 26, 2012 - 4:55 AM Winston-Salem, NC (Sports Network) - Michael Snaer scored 18 points thanks to a perfect 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc, as No. 23 Florida State kept up its streak of success with a 75-52 decision over Wake Forest at Joel Coliseum.

Okaro White totaled 11 points and Xavier Gibson contributed 10 for the Seminoles (14-6, 5-1 ACC), who suffered no signs of a letdown after a last-second win at Duke on Saturday and have won five in a row.

"I felt all along that this team had the potential to be a little better than we were last year," said FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton. "Once we realized that the strength of our team was with a smaller line-up, we defined our roles better and are playing a bit more within our skill level."

C.J. Harris poured in 16 points for the Demon Deacons (11-9, 2-4), who have dropped four of five. Nikita Mescheriakov had 13 points but committed five turnovers in defeat.

Florida State never trailed in the second half, but used an early burst to re- assert its dominance and cruise to victory.

Tony Chennault hit a bucket to bring the hosts within 32-30, but Bernard James connected on the next possession to start an 18-2 run. Gibson hit a pair of baskets ahead of a Snaer trey, White added four points and Jon Kreft ended the surge with 9:46 left to make it 50-32.

White later hit a layup and drained the free throw for a 63-43 game with 4:05 to play and the Demon Deacons had no answer from there.

"They just wore us down. They wore us down with their depth and they wore us down inside," said Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik. "We got a little soft defensively. Then, combined with their inside presence and knocking down some threes, we had a lot of difficulty staying in the game. We weren't stopping them inside and we weren't stopping them outside."

Wake Forest led 7-4 early and then 12-10 just before the midway point of the first half, before the Seminoles unleashed a 15-6 run that provided a 25-18 margin on Snaer's triple with 3:41 to go before intermission.

FSU was up 29-23 at the break.

Game Notes

Florida State has won four in a row but Wake Forest has taken 23 of the 43 all-time meetings...James finished with seven points and nine rebounds...Ty Walker ended up with a game-high four blocks for the Deacons...FSU shot 8- of-16 from three-point range.