Men's Basketball ACCtion: Wednesday, January 21
Virginia Tech upsets #1 Wake Forest; North Carolina and Miami win at home.



Jan. 21, 2009

 

  • AP ACCtion Photos

    • Hokies stun top-ranked Wake Forest 78-71

    Virginia Tech’s big three of Malcolm Delaney, A.D. Vassallo and Jeff Allen combined for 53 points and the Hokies got solid contributions from their role players to pull of a stunning 78-71 victory over No. 1 Wake Forest in an ACC game played in front of 14,110 fans at Lawrence Joel Vetera! ns Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night.

    The victory marked Tech’s first over a No. 1-ranked team since 2007 when the Hokies downed North Carolina 94-88 at Cassell Coliseum. It also marked the program’s third ever victory over a No. 1-ranked team, joining the 69-56 win over Memphis in 1983 at Cassell. The Demon Deacons – the last team in the nation to lose a game – had moved to No. 1 in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll on Monday, but struggled from the outset. Wake got into early foul trouble and led just one time in the game when L.D. Williams hit a lay-up with 15:56 to go in the first half to give the Demon Deacons an 8-7 lead. A jumper by Delaney with 12:53 left in the first half enabled the Hokies to retake the lead (10-8) and they never trailed again, leading the final 32:53 of the game.

    A combination of terrific defense and hot shooting enabled the Hokies to lead by as many as 16 in the first half, by as many as 15 in the second half and by 13 with 6:28 to play after Allen buried a 3-pointer to give Tech a 67-54 lead.

    That turned out to be Tech’s last basket of the game. The Demon Deacons scrambled back into it, going on a 17-2 run over the next 4:36 and cutting the lead to 71-69 on a 3-pointer by star guard Jeff Teague with 1:52 left.

    Miami Powers Past Florida State, 75-69

    Jack McClinton scored a season-high 28 points Wednesday, including three free throws in the final 25 seconds, and the Miami Hurricanes snapped a five-game losing streak in its rivalry with Florida State, 75-69.

    Lance Hurdle had a season-high 16 points for the Hurricanes, who overcame a 12-point first-half deficit. Miami used a 22-9 run over the last 7:06 of the first half -- including seven McClinton points -- to take the 30-29 lead into the break.

    Florida State (15-4, 2-2) was led by Toney Douglas, who matched a season-high with 30 points. The Seminoles shot only 39 percent, while the Hurricanes shot 49 percent -- including 61.9 percent in the second half.

    Tar Heels Rout Clemson 94-70

    Wayne Ellington had another big game against Clemson, and No. 5 North Carolina added another year of misery to the 10th-ranked Tigers' streak of futility in Chapel Hill.

    Ellington had 25 points to help the Tar Heels beat the Tigers 94-70 on Wednesday night, keeping North Carolina perfect in 54 home games against Clemson.

    Tyler Hansbrough added 20 points for the Tar Heels (17-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), whose 54-0 run against the Tigers here is an NCAA record for the longest home winning streak against one opponent. North Carolina took control late in the first half and used a 24-4 run spanning the break to build an 18-point lead early in the second half.

    Clemson (16-2, 2-2) never got closer than 13 the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 27 points. It was the Tigers' second consecutive defeat after a 16-0 start, following Saturday's home loss to Wake Forest that propelled the Demon Deacons to the No. 1 ranking this week.