Tyree Appleby scored 24 points and Wake Forest held on to defeat visiting Virginia Tech 77-75 on Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Andrew Carr recorded 14 points and Daivien Williamson added 12 for the Demon Deacons (10-4, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Wake Forest made 11 shots from 3-point range to nearly double Virginia Tech's point total from beyond the arc.
Sean Pedulla and Justyn Mutts each scored 18 points for Virginia Tech (11-3, 1-2), which lost its second straight game and fell to 0-3 overall in true road games.
Virginia Tech was hurt by 13 turnovers compared to seven giveaways by Wake Forest.
Boosted by an 8-0 run early in the second half, Wake Forest opened a 52-42 lead. Carr scored six points during that stretch with a 3-point basket and a three-point play.
Virginia Tech bounced back to pull within 60-58, aided by five consecutive points from reserve forward Mylyjael Poteat.
Two 3-pointers from Williamson allowed the Demon Deacons to regain control before Appleby connected from long range to make it 72-64.
The Hokies rallied again, closing to 72-70 with 2:15 to play on Mutts' basket. The next three points came on Appleby free throws.
Grant Basile's 3-pointer with one minute left gave the Hokies a chance. But the Demon Deacons tracked down an offensive rebound that otherwise would have given Virginia Tech a chance to tie or take the lead. Damari Monsanto's two foul shots helped clinch the outcome before Darius Maddox's basket at the buzzer.
The score was 38-38 at the break despite both teams struggling with shooting. Virginia Tech made 40 percent of its first-half shots, though it benefitted from 10-for-12 shooting on free throws.
Wake Forest, which trailed 18-10, checked in at 36.4 percent for the opening 20 minutes. The Demon Deacons were charged with only one turnover in the first half.
--Field Level Media
Virginia Tech | Wake Forest | |
Justyn Mutts 18 | Scoring | Tyree Appleby 24 |
Sean Pedulla 7 | Assists | Tyree Appleby 7 |
Justyn Mutts 11 | Rebounds | Cameron Hildreth 8 |
Sean Pedulla 5 | Free Throws Made | Tyree Appleby 10 |
Sean Pedulla 3 | Steals | Tyree Appleby 2 |
Justyn Mutts 3 | Blocks | Davion Bradford 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Virginia Tech | 75 | 45.8 | 6-21 | 15-19 | 14 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
Wake Forest | 77 | 36.5 | 11-28 | 20-26 | 12 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 7 |