By Nick Bowton

Salisbury Post

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Miami on Saturday. Three days later, the Demon Deacons couldn’t repeat that feat against Boston College.

Wake led for the final time in the first two minutes of the game, went six minutes without scoring early in the first half and lost 95-85 on Tuesday.

The Deacs got within five points on several occasions late in the game but never did fully rebound from a 22-0 Boston College run.

“We don’t want to be in damage control by the first TV timeout,” Wake coach Skip Prosser said. “This has happened all too often for us. This wasn’t the first time. In all candor, Saturday wasn’t the first time.

“It’s fundamental things: passing, catching, throwing to the guy in the same-colored shirt.”

Prosser’s Deacs did those things Tuesday. They just didn’t do them until late in the second half.

In the first half, Wake (9-6, 1-2 ACC) led 5-1 before BC slasher Sean Marshall hit a jumper to spark the Eagles’ 22-0 run. Marshall scored eights points during the spurt, including a pair of emphatic slam dunks, and finished with a game-high 27.

By the time Wake senior Michael Drum made two free throws with 12:45 left in the first half, the Deacs trailed 23-7. BC (11-4, 3-0) pushed its advantage to 52-35 at halftime — the sixth time this season Wake has trailed by double digits at the break.

“We have to come out with a sense of urgency,” said Drum, who led Wake with 21 points, five assists, four steals and no turnovers off the bench. “My heart can’t take this any more. I’m an old man. They gotta stop doing this to us old seniors.”

Drum had as much to do with Wake’s second-half rally as anyone. He scored 14 points after halftime, including three free throws to get the Demon Deacons within five points for the final time at 86-81 with 1:06 remaining.

Sophomore Shamaine Dukes also played a role in the rally, as he scored five points in the final four minutes. With starting point guard Ishmael Smith having an off-night with turnover troubles, Dukes had seven points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes.

Those contributions, however, weren’t enough to overcome Wake’s poor start.

The free-throw disparity didn’t help the Deacs, either. Boston College finished 35-of-46 from the line.

“We like to attack the basket, especially with their interior defense,” BC coach Al Skinner said. “(Kyle) Visser is a good defender, but hes the only one of significant importance. I tell my players all the time I’d rather take two points and a foul than a couple of 3-point shots.”

The Eagles took plenty of points from the line in the final three minutes, as they went

13-of-16 to finish Wake off. The final few minutes gave the Joel Coliseum crowd plenty of excitement, but Prosser didn’t care about an exciting finish.

“Horrible,” he said of the outcome. “We’re not gonna have a parade because we keep fighting. You’re supposed to keep fighting.

“We just dug ourselves such a hole it was tough to come back.”

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NOTES: Boston College freshman and former Salisbury High standout Shamari Spears did not play because of a violation of team rules, Skinner said. Spears punishment was missing one game. … Tyrese Rice, who also played ball in Salisbury as a child, finished with 21 points and went 7-of-8 from the foul line. … Jared Dudley had 19 points and 13 rebounds for BC, while

Visser scored 20 for Wake.

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Contact Nick Bowton at 704-797-4256 or nbowton@salisburypost.com.