2nd - 10:51
Johnson, Wake Forest streak past Georgia Tech
Feb 19, 2009 - 4:25 AM WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Wake Forest used a fast start and a strong finish to avoid a second loss to Georgia Tech.James Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Jeff Teague scored 15 as the eighth-ranked Demon Deacons posted an 87-69 victory over the Yellow Jackets in Atlantic Coast Conference action on Wednesday.
Freshman Al-Farouq Aminu added 14 points and Ishmael Smith had 11 and eight assists for Wake Forest (20-4, 7-4 ACC), which lost to Georgia Tech on January 31.
"I think our guys came out with a lot of energy and emotion," Demon Deacons coach Dino Gaudio said. "We reminded them of (how they felt after the loss) and they came out and played very hard and with a lot of energy. It was a really good win for us and I am really proud of them."
Johnson scored the game's first five points and Wake Forest had leads of 15-3 and 25-5 early in the first half. Gary Clark's second 3-pointer gave the Demon Deacons a 20-point lead with 12:16 left in the half.
Georgia Tech had six turnovers in the first 6:13 of the contest and missed 10 of its first 11 shots against a smothering Wake Forest defense, which led to a number of easy hoops.
"I think the way we played in the first half is exactly how we can play all the time," Johnson said. "If we keep connecting and grabbing possession we can keep moving the ball. Everything is going to click for us."
The Demon Deacons increased their lead to 23 later in the first half but Lewis Clinch made two of the Yellow Jackets' four 3-pointers as they closed the session on a 14-2 run to pull within 50-39 at the break.
Georgia Tech continued to hang around and Clinch's fifth 3-pointer keyed a 9-0 run that pulled the Yellow Jackets within 61-56 with 13:28 remaining.
However, that would be as close as they could get as L.D. Williams had a three-point play and Smith knocked down a 3-pointer during a 14-2 Wake Forest run, pushing the lead to 77-60 with 9:06 left.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy," Smith said. "Georgia Tech is a well-coached, hard-playing team. We knew we weren't going to just run through those guys. At first it looked like it but I knew it wasn't going to be that easy."
The Yellow Jackets missed nine of their next 11 shots as the Demon Deacons cruised to the finish.
"We had a couple of really bad turnovers," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said about Wake Forest's late run. "We had a couple of one-hand catch attempts that went out of bounds. We had one mismatch under the basket. We had Lewis (Clinch) wide open from three. When you get down the way we did, you can't have any of those mistakes at all in a game like this.
"They're a very explosive team offensively. They capitalized on those turnovers and got easy baskets."
Wake Forest shot 57 percent (31-of-54) from the floor and outscored Georgia Tech, 46-24, in the paint.
It was Wake Forest's first set of back-to-back wins since it opened the campaign 16-0. The Demon Deacons visit No. 9 Duke on Sunday.
"This win gives us some confidence," Gaudio said. "We are going to have to practice really well for the three days before we go down there. Like all the games in this conference it will be a difficult game and a difficult environment and we are going to have to play very hard and very well."
Clinch scored 24 points to lead Georgia Tech (10-15, 1-11), which has lost all five contests since its lone ACC win last month.
- NCAA BB
FINAL 1ST 2ND TOTAL
--- --- -----
GEORGIA TECH 39 30 69
WAKE FOREST (8) 50 37 87 FINAL
Feb 18 9:38 PM - NCAA BB
GEORGIA TECH 39
(8) WAKE FOREST 50 HALFTIME
Feb 18 8:28 PM
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