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Ennis, Syracuse down Wake Forest

Jan 30, 2014 - 5:48 AM Winston-Salem, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Tyler Ennis netted all but two of his game-high 18 points in the second half, as second-ranked Syracuse remained unbeaten and tied its best start in school history with a 67-57 triumph over Wake Forest on Wednesday.

C.J. Fair followed with 16 points to go with eight rebounds, while Jerami Grant tallied 10 points and 12 boards for the Orange (20-0, 7-0 ACC), who matched the 2011-12 squad for the best start in program history.

"Tyler Ennis played the game like a freshman in the first half but in the second half he played like a senior that he is," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "When he got going that was the difference in the game."

Travis McKie and Devin Thomas each scored 12 points to pace the Demon Deacons (14-7, 4-4), who had a 13-game home win streak halted.

Both teams struggled to find their respective shooting touches in the first half, with Syracuse shooting just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) and Wake Forest finishing just a touch better at 26.9 percent (7-of-26) over the opening 20 minutes.

"Their zone was pretty active, but we had a lot of open looks as well," McKie said of his team struggling to score. "I think both teams did not shoot well from the field."

Despite their poor shooting performance, the Orange carried a 26-23 lead into the second half and pushed the spread to six early in the frame after Fair followed an Ennis trey with 1-of-2 from the line for a 36-30 lead.

Back-to-back buckets from Grant shortly after had the margin at eight before Wake Forest ripped off five straight points to pull within 40-37 with 12:20 to play.

Ennis scored six during an 8-3 Syracuse swing to make it 48-40 with eight minutes left, but Coron Williams countered with a triple to get the home team within five.

McKie made two free throws with just over four minutes left to get the margin back to five, but Trevor Cooney supplied the final six points of an 8-1 run that gave the Orange a comfortable 62-50 lead with just over a minute left.

Game Notes

Fair scored in double digits for the 19th time in 20 games this season ... Syracuse shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field overall, while Wake Forest went 18-of-53 (34 percent) from the floor ... The teams combined to go 6-of-34 from 3-point range, with each team hitting three triples ... Syracuse won the rebounding battle, 55-35.