Virginia Tech 76, Wake Forest 70

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Posted 7:52PM on Saturday, January 28, 2006

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Going winless in six Atlantic Coast Conference games had left Virginia Tech's players and coaches feeling a little under the gun. But A.D. Vassallo gave the Hokies a big lift, scoring a career-high 29 points as Virginia Tech beat Wake Forest 76-70 Saturday for its first ACC victory of the season. Jamon Gordon added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies (11-9, 1-6), who overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to snap a five-game losing streak. ``This has been a very tough three weeks,'' Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. ``We haven't had a whole lot to smile about. This will give them a chance to feel good about themselves and put behind them everything that's going on in their lives.'' Zabian Dowdell had 11 points and Wynton Witherspoon scored 10 for the Hokies. Vassallo started in place of Deron Washington, who was suspended for Saturday's game after he drove his foot into the face of a Duke's Lee Melchionni during Thursday's 80-67 loss to the No. 2 Blue Devils. The Hokies were also without scoring and rebounding leader Coleman Collins, who left the team to be with his ailing father in Georgia, and Shawn Harris, who was attending his grandmother's funeral. Vassallo more than made up for Washington's absence, hitting 11-of-19 from the field (including 4-of-5 3-pointers) and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Vassallo who also pulled down 10 rebounds for his first career double-double left his teammates impressed with Saturday's performance. ``I didn't see it coming,'' Gordon said. ``I knew he could hit shots, but I didn't know what to expect about his all-around game. But, hey, he proved me wrong. He proved a lot of other people wrong.'' Yet the freshman didn't feel the pressure of making just his third start of the season, and his first in 18 games. ``I had the mindset that I was in practice,'' said Vassallo, who averaged 4.2 points per game. ``I thought I was playing 5-on-5 with the guys. I felt comfortable out there, taking the shots that I knew I was gonna make. It just turned out to be a great day.'' Trent Strickland scored 23 points for the Demon Deacons (12-8, 1-6), who fell into a tie with the Hokies for last place in the league standings. Michael Drum had 17 points, Eric Williams scored 12 and Harvey Hale posted 10 for Wake Forest, which played without leading scorer Justin Gray, who sat out after coming down with a stomach virus Saturday morning, according to a school spokesman. It was the first game that Gray the ACC's second-leading scorer at 19.6 points had missed since his freshman season with the Demon Deacons, when he was out eight games with a broken jaw. With Williams facing double- and triple-teams inside, the Hokies were able to outrebound the Demon Deacons 40-34, including a 19-12 advantage in offensive rebounds. ``That is just not acceptable,'' said Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser. ``Clearly, there are a lot of things missing. Ultimately, those things fall on me. I'm the head coach, and I take full responsibility.'' Despite Gray's absence, Wake Forest led 38-35 at the half, then opened the second half with a 9-point run, going up 47-35 with 16:53 left on Drum's fifth 3-pointer of the game. The Demon Deacons led by 11 points when Vassallo and Gordon combined for 11 of the Hokies' next 13 points in a run that put Virginia Tech up 57-56 with 8:22 left, the team's first lead since the opening minutes of the first half. The teams swapped the lead five times and tied the score once before Gordon stripped Strickland of the ball, feeding Witherspoon for a fast-break layup that put the Hokies up 67-65 with 4:04 remaining. The Hokies never trailed again, hitting 5-of-6 from the line in the final 26 seconds to close out the game. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)