Winston-Salem, N.C. - Many figured that after coming off of a tough, last second, double overtime loss to Clemson earlier in the week, the Demon Deacons would have a tough time getting psyched up for the men's basketball game against Virginia. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Wake Forest went on to beat Virginia, 92-70, last night.
The Deacons (18-8, 8-4 ACC) shot 61 percent from the field in the first half, outscoring Virginia (16-7, 6-6) by 18 points. The Cavaliers came out with a strong push to trim the lead to 13 at one point, but Wake was too strong from the field, triumphing over the Cavaliers by a 22-point margin.
The Deacons were seemingly unstoppable coming out of the gate, as junior guard Craig Dawson lit it up from three-point land, while senior forward Darius Songaila outmanuevered the Cavalier offense inside.
Six minutes into the game, Wake Forest already had scored 21 points after three consecutive three-pointers from Dawson and a layup by Songaila. The Deacons shot 70 percent from outside the arc in the first half, with Dawson hitting 4-for-6, and finishing with 17 points on the night.
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"We didn't do anything right on defense in the first half," Virginia junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "We couldn't rotate, we couldn't man up, we couldn't do anything. We all wanted to win this game, but we just struggled on defense."
Wake Forest continued its domination on offense as it fed the ball into its star, Songaila, who went a perfect 6-for-6 from both the field and the free throw line in the first half. Songaila, who has been a Virginia killer over the years, scored 30 on the night, including his first 10 field goals and all eight of his free throws.
Virginia seemed as though it would fight its way back into the game, as it cut the lead down to 13 only three minutes into the second half. But after freshman guard Jermaine Harper missed a three-point attempt from the top of the key, it was all downhill for the Cavaliers. The Demon Deacons took off on a 7-0 run, and Virginia would not close within 10 points of the Deacons for the rest of the game.
Virginia's ACC road woes continued, as the Cavaliers played weak defense in the first half, often looking confused on simple pick-and-rolls.
"Our defense was horrible," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We didn't have very good practices leading up to the game, and I told the kids after the game that you usually play the way you practice."
The only bright spot for Virginia was Mason, who scored 22 points in the first half and finished with a career-high 31 points. The rest of Virginia's starters did not help out at all, scoring a total of only 10 points in the first half, and 25 for the enire game. Senior forward Chris Williams was the most glaring scoring absence, as he missed all eight of his shots.
Virginia struggled to find their offensive rhythm as well. The Cavaliers only shot 28 percent from the field on offense in the first half and 34 percent for the game. Although rebounding usually is among the Cavaliers' strengths, the Deacons out-rebounded Virginia, 43-26.
The Cavaliers will need to right the wrongs of last night's loss and find their rhythm on both ends of the court when they travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State Wednesday.
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