University of Richmond
Wake Forest
Men's Basketball Falls To No. 23 Wake Forest, 67-52
01/02/2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan 2, 2002
By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Darius Songaila had 15 of his 19 points in the first half and Josh Howard scored 10 of 16 in the second as No. 23 Wake Forest beat Richmond 67-52 Wednesday night.
Wake Forest (10-3) improved to 8-0 at home this season and has won 23 straight at home against nonconference opponents. The Demon Deacons have won five of six as they head into the bulk of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule.
Richmond (6-7), which has lost six of nine, took 34 of its 66 shots from 3-point range. The Spiders made just six from beyond the arc and shot less than 40 percent (30) from the field for the seventh time this season.
Reggie Brown led Richmond with 19 points and Scott Ungerer added 12.
Songaila, who attempted six shots for the second straight game in a row, was 11-for-13 from the free throw line - Wake Forest's only free throws - and had nine rebounds.
Howard was 7-for-13 from the field and had 12 rebounds.
Wake Forest opened with an 8-2 run, but didn't find its rhythm until late in the first half.
The Demon Deacons had seven turnovers - most on weak passes - in the first 10 minutes, including one pass by Howard that sailed two rows into the crowd. Coach Skip Prosser became so frustrated at one point that he threw a cup down on the floor, delaying the game for nearly a minute as the ice cubes were cleaned up.
Richmond used a 14-4 run to take a 23-19 lead midway through the first half, but Songaila had seven straight points during a 15-3 run that put Wake Forest up 10 with just over two minutes left. The Demon Deacons shot 14-of-25 in taking a 42-31 halftime lead.
Prosser beat up on the water cups again early in the second half - slamming one into another and dropping both on the floor - after the Demon Deacons had five turnovers in the first six minutes.
Richmond cut the lead to 46-40 with 13:23 left, but Howard had a jumper, a dunk over Tony Dobbins and a tip-in to put Wake Forest up 54-40 with 9:41 left.
Wake Forest, which finished with 21 turnovers, has won 10 straight over Richmond.
