Monday, March 09, 2009
College basketball roundup: Wake Forest runs Clemson ragged
Associated Press
Clemson's Demontez Stitt drives to the basket as Wake Forest's Jeff Teague (0) defends. Despite 21 points from Stitt, the Demon Deacons defeated the Tigers 96-88 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- While most of the attention in the ACC on Sunday was on the North Carolina-Duke rivalry, Wake Forest served notice it's a contender for next week's league tournament crown, too.
With James Johnson scoring 17 of his 21 points after halftime, the 10th-ranked Demon Deacons had their offense humming in a 96-88 comeback win over No. 18 Clemson on Sunday in the regular-season finale.
Johnson, taking charge of the offense with guard Jeff Teague in foul trouble, hit his first eight shots. He finished 10-for-14 from the field, while the Demon Deacons (24-5, 11-5) shot 60 percent in their fourth straight win to grab the No. 2 seed for the ACC Tournament.
Al-Farouq Aminu also scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Wake Forest, which rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit to extend its home winning streak over Clemson to 17 games.
Demontez Stitt scored a career-high 21 points. K.C. Rivers also scored 21 and Trevor Booker had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (23-7, 9-7), who lost for the fifth time in nine games and will limp into the ACC Tournament as the No. 5 seed.
No. 8 Michigan St. 62, No. 19 Purdue 51
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Kalin Lucas scored 21 points to help Spartans win their fifth straight game heading into the Big Ten tournament.
The Spartans (25-5, 15-3) scored nine straight points early in the second half to break open a tight game, and pushed the lead to as many as 14 in the second half.
JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore each scored 12 points for Purdue (22-9, 11-7).
No. 14 Gonzaga 94, Santa Clara 59
LAS VEGAS -- Austin Daye scored a career-high 28 points, Micah Downs hit four 3-pointers, and Gonzaga rolled into another West Coast Conference tournament final, beating Santa Clara in the semifinals.
MISSOURI VALLEY
Northern Iowa 60, Illinois State 57, OT
ST. LOUIS -- Ali Farokhmanesh scored eight of Northern Iowa's 12 points in overtime, helping the top seed overcome a big finish from Osiris Eldridge in a win over Illinois State in the championship game.
WOMEN
No. 4 Maryland 92, No. 8 Duke 89, OT
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Marisa Coleman had 28 points and 15 rebounds, Kristie Toliver added 24 points and Maryland captured its first ACC title in 20 years with an overtime victory over Duke.
Coleman's 3-pointer with 2:53 left in overtime put Maryland ahead to stay, and Abby Waner missed a desperation 3-point attempt in the final seconds for Duke.
-- Associated Press
