Deacons trip Jackets, end six-game slide

WINSTON-SALEM -- Wake Forest's 59-50 victory against Georgia Tech on Wednesday in Joel Coliseum - one that snapped a six-game losing streak by the Deacons - came down to something pretty simple.

"Timely shots," Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "We made some timely shots."

The Deacons (12-14, 3-9 ACC) won for the first time since Jan. 21 (they had also lost nine of 10). In doing so, they shut down poor-shooting Georgia Tech (9-16, 2-9) with an effective zone defense.

Although Wake Forest (32.7 percent) shot even worse than Georgia Tech (37.3), the Deacons, as Bzdelik said, hit big shots when they needed to.

The Deacons trailed 39-35 when freshman guard Chase Fischer hit his only shot of the night, a 3-pointer that narrowed the Yellow Jackets' lead to one point with 8 minutes, 21 seconds left.

That helped jump start Wake Forest on a 14-2 run that ultimately would bury the Yellow Jackets. With forward Travis McKie scoring from everywhere - he finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds - and point guard Tony Chenault hitting key free throws (the Deacons made 19 of 20), Wake Forest managed to grab a rare ACC victory.

Even center Ty Walker helped out down the stretch in an unlikely way. He hit a 17-foot jumper, the longest shot of his career in the middle of that late run.

The Deacons' zone, however, had as much to do with the victory as anything. Although Georgia Tech opened the second half by scoring 10 consecutive points and took a 27-24 lead with 17:49 left, the Yellow Jackets ultimately would make just 19 of 51 shots.

McKie's offense was the difference.

"When it's winning time - if there's about eight minutes left in a close game - the other team always seems to have the toughest player on the court and make the big plays," said Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory, whose team was led by Glen Rice Jr.'s 21 points. "In this game, it was McKie."

McKie scored 16 points in the second half.

"I just played," McKie said. "You don't want to think too much or you start to screw yourself up. When they sat back, I shot over them. When pushed up on me, I drove right past them."

The victory pushed the Deacons out of last place in the ACC past Georgia Tech. Bzdelik hopes that gives his team a much-needed positive jolt.

"You can talk about confidence all you want," Bzdelik said. "But if you don't experience some success every once in a while ... It takes a mentally strong person to constantly get beat up and bounce back. I told our players it takes great courage to persevere when everybody else is doubting you."