Wake wins game ‘that was a bunch of garbage,’ according to coach

BY DAVID SHAW
SALISBURY POST

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest threw up an artistic air ball Saturday night at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

The 12th-ranked Deacons committed a season-high 24 turnovers, shot only 35 percent from the field in the first half and often seemed out-of-control in their non-conference game against South Carolina State.

Wake’s performance was so distasteful coach Dave Odom likened it to something that fell off the back of Fred Sanford’s pickup truck.

“That was garbage,” he told a roomful of reporters. “Nothing short of garbage. We cannot tolerate that.”

So deduct a point for reckless driving and chalk up another victory for the unbeaten Deacs, who prevailed 66-55 in spite of themselves.

“We should have taken care of the ball better,” said Darius Songailia, whose eighth career double-double helped Wake extend its victory binge to six games. “When you get into that up-tempo, running-gunning game, sometimes you need to just slow it down and take a look around.”

Wake, which had a season-low eight turnovers in Tuesday’s 11-point win at Michigan, was saved by its defense. It limited S.C. State (2-4) to 22 points in the first half and a dismal 33-percent shooting performance from the floor. That didn’t sour the night for coach Cy Alexander, a 1975 Catawba College graduate.

“The only way you’re going to take your program to the next level is to play the best,” he said. “We were competitive. If we can stay with the No. 12 team in the country, we should be able to play with everyone in our league (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference).”

S.C. State, an NCAA tournament team last season, held Wake scoreless for the 51/2 minutes. Clemson transfer Vincent Whitt hit three early jump shots, then gave the Bulldogs their final lead of the game, 21-20, when he nailed a 12-footer from the right side with 4:33 remaining in the first half.

“We didn’t look like No. 12 in the beginning,” said Wake’s Craig Dawson. “It was more mental than anything. I’m not sure we were prepared for these guys.”

State boasted a starting lineup that averaged 6-foot-8, a full three inches taller than Wake’s. “We knew all about that,” said Josh Howard. “We just played a bad half, a bad game. Hopefully, that’s the end of that for a while.”

Wake mounted a seven-point halftime lead before looking over its shoulder, making a lane change and speeding away in the second period. A 9-1 spurt to open the half — sparked by a pair of Howard breakaway layups and his thunderous dunk — gave the Deacs a commanding 38-23 edge.

“The first eight minutes of the second half were critical,” said Alexander. “We didn’t execute very well.”

Wake did. The Deacs made 14 of their 22 field-goal attempts in the second half and led by as much as 53-31 after Howard slammed down a whirley-bird dunk with 7:27 to play.

“We definitely made some adjustments,” said Songaila. “Defensively we had to start blocking out — and not just the big guys. The ones on the perimeter were hurting us, too.”

State closed the gap in the final moments, when it scored eight of the game’s last nine points. But Odom, more than anyone, knew this was nothing to pound your chest over.

“Overall, that was a very hollow win,” he said. “We often tell our guys, ‘You either get better or you get worse.’ I don’t think there’s any question that we did not get better tonight. Hopefully by February or March, it won’t matter.”

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NOTES: Songaila had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Teammate Josh Shoemaker, the ACC’s leading rebounder (10.8 average), pulled down 11. ... Next up for the Deacons is second-ranked Kansas, which visits Winston-Salem on Thursday (7 p.m./ESPN). ... Dating to last season, Wake has won 11 consecutive games. Only defending national champion Michigan State (16) has a longer current winning streak. ... Wake’s 2000 NIT championship banner was unveiled during a pre-game ceremony.