Wake Forest Takes Down Eagles At Conte

As the snow continued to fall outside on Saturday afternoon, Boston College and Wake Forest battled inside Conte Forum, in what proved to be a one-sided affair. The Demon Deacons won the opening tip-off and immediately scored on a layup. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Wake Forest would never look back, holding the lead for the rest of the game and getting the 71-56 victory.

After the game, Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik spoke about how his team was determined to get back on track against BC.

"Immediately after our game against Duke, in the locker room at Cameron, we talked about Boston College and about how this game was our Super Bowl," Bzdelik said.

Led by the tandem of Travis McKie and C.J. Harris, the Deacons played with a purpose for 40 minutes, exemplifying the mantra of their coach. Bzdelik added, "It was just our next game, it didn't matter who it was, but we needed to get right on to our next opponent."

The versatility of McKie, combined with Wake's desire for a win, was ultimately what sunk the Eagles. He finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds during his 38 minutes on the court. The sophomore from Richmond, Va. was a workhorse for Wake Forest. In addition to his double-double, McKie had a strong presence on defense, recording three blocks.

After a disappointing 1-3 start in ACC play, Bzdelik was very pleased that McKie and Harris finally put forth a strong performance against an ACC opponent.

"They both had great non-conference stats … and as a young team, we're still developing," Bzdelik said.

Harris (15 points, five assists) is currently second in the ACC in scoring and McKie is close behind him, ranked fourth. The duo's leadership on the court is an intangible asset that helped carry Wake Forest to a victory. The ability of McKie and Harris to consistently make plays and sink shots was something the Eagles simply could not do against the Demon Deacons.

For BC, the game seemed to have three parts. Throughout the first half, it was unable to match the intensity of Wake Forest. Turnovers and missed shots were a constant theme and hindered the Eagles' offense. However, with 1:45 left, two jump shots by Ryan Anderson and two made free throws by Jordan Daniels allowed BC to cut into Wake Forest's lead and go into the locker room down by only eight.

After the break, the Eagles came out of the locker room and dominated Wake for the first four minutes and thirty-five seconds. After a long two-point jumper by Lonnie Jackson, the Eagles cut the lead to three and the fans at Conte Forum erupted before a media timeout. After the break, missed shots and turnovers by the Eagles started to haunt them yet again. Wake Forest re-established a three-possession lead with 10 minutes remaining, and never looked back.

After the game, head coach Steve Donahue spoke about the performance of Wake Forest. "[Wake Forest] just played a lot smarter and tougher than we did," he said.

After a strong practice Friday, Donahue felt his team was poised for a fast start against Wake. With a starting five made up of four freshmen, inexperience proved to be BC's undoing. Donahue explained how, being a younger team, the Eagles need to learn from these types of games to become a better team in the future.

"We can't control the competition. The competition is going to be older, bigger, and stronger at this point," Donahue said.

There is a great sense of optimism around Donahue, despite the team's troubles during the last two games.

"Down the road, we're going to look back and say it was really beneficial these guys went through what they did today," Donahue said

Saturday afternoon, the Eagles ran into an ACC team that simply had more experience than they did. Their play at the start of the second half was a glimpse at what this group of new players is capable of. As the post-game press conference came to a close, Donahue made sure to note, "This team is hungry for a win."