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North Carolina looks to avoid letdown vs. Wake Forest

Feb 10, 2007 - 3:45 PM Wake Forest (11-12) at No. 5 North Carolina (21-3) 1:30 pm EST

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Ticker) -- North Carolina will try to avoid a letdown when it hosts struggling Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference clash on Saturday.

The Tar Heels posted a 79-73 victory over bitter rival Duke on Wednesday. Freshman Ty Lawson scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, including a pair of strong drives inside the closing two minutes.

Fellow freshman Brandan Wright had 19 points and nine rebounds for North Carolina (21-3, 7-2 ACC), which cemented itself as a national contender with a signature road win.

On Saturday, however, it will be easy to overlook the Demon Deacons (11-12, 2-8), who are one of the worst teams in the conference. But after a six-game losing streak, Wake Forest has won two of its last three games, including an 87-71 non-conference victory over Winston-Salem on Tuesday.

The Demon Deacons have won their last three visits to Chapel Hill, including a thrilling 119-114 triple-overtime victory in the last meeting here on December 20, 2003.

The Tar Heels have won three of the four meetings on the road in the series since the last meeting at the Smith Center.