No. 5 Wake Forest 98, North Carolina A 76

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Wake Forest had closed what coach Skip Prosser likes to call the first part of a journey.<br> <br> Now the fifth-ranked Demon Deacons will find out if a tough nonconference schedule has prepared them for the rigors of the Atlantic Coast Conference.<br> <br> ``The level of intensity will obviously pick up,&#39;&#39; Prosser said Thursday after Wake Forest&#39;s 98-76 win against North Carolina A There have been ``very few weeks, even to this point, we&#39;ve gone through without meeting a nationally ranked team.<br> <br> ``Now it&#39;s going to be one or two a week.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Justin Gray scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half for the Demon Deacons (11-1), who spent much of the game shooting around 60 percent and led by 32 at halftime. Eric Williams added 19 points to help the Demon Deacons win their sixth straight.<br> <br> It was a stress-free way to prepare for what will likely be a brutal ACC race, which the Demon Deacons were picked in the preseason to win. Seven league teams are ranked in The Associated Press Top 25, including Wake Forest&#39;s next opponent: No. 25 Virginia.<br> <br> Wake Forest has beaten Arizona, Texas, Temple and Providence, and its only loss came against top-ranked Illinois.<br> <br> ``I really couldn&#39;t wait for this to happen,&#39;&#39; Williams said of the ACC season. ``The ACC is such an intense conference. I really enjoy playing in it. ... It&#39;s just like opening a Christmas gift. You can&#39;t wait to get things started.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Sean Booker scored 18 points for the overmatched Aggies (1-11), who were handed a lopsided loss at Wake Forest for the third straight season.<br> <br> Gray and the Demon Deacons showed little sign of rust from a weeklong layoff since an 81-64 win at New Mexico, shooting 64 percent in the first half. They finished with a 50-32 rebounding advantage and had 22 assists on 32 baskets.<br> <br> Gray went 6-for-9 from the floor in the first half, including 5-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc, in just 14 minutes. He didn&#39;t take a shot in the second half, making just two free throws.<br> <br> Wake Forest hardly needed more against a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school located about 30 miles west in Greensboro. Williams went 9-for-10 from the floor and had a career-high five blocks. Jamaal Levy added a career-high seven assists.<br> <br> The Demon Deacons led 60-28 at halftime and pushed the margin to 38 points in the second half.<br> <br> ``I think we played one of the better teams in the country,&#39;&#39; Aggies coach Jerry Eaves said. ``They&#39;ve got great depth and the potential to be ACC champions and perhaps go all the way. They are balanced, unselfish and they shot tremendously well in the first half.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Gray came in 12 points short of 1,000 for his career, but didn&#39;t need much time to become the 42nd player in school history to reach the mark. He made three 3-pointers in the first seven minutes to go with two rebounds and two assists.<br> <br> Finally, with about 5.5 minutes left in the half, Gray drained a jumper over Booker from the right side for his 21st point. That matched the entire Aggies team which trailed 43-21 and prompted Gray to jokingly blurt out ``I might get 40!&#39;&#39;<br> <br> ``I had some good looks,&#39;&#39; Gray said with a shrug. ``My teammates did a good job of finding me, and I just tried to knock them down and get in a rhythm. Sometimes when a player gets in a good rhythm, they feel like the basket opens up.&#39;&#39;