THURSDAY NIGHT HOOPS

No. 14 WAKE FOREST 85, N.C. STATE 78 – N.C. State upset Wake Forest in their first meeting, but the Demon Deacons’ James Johnson (#23) wasn’t going to let that happen again. Johnson had career highs with 28 points and 18 rebounds to help Wake dodge the Wolfpack 85-78.

Ishmael Smith added a season-high 18 points and Chas McFarland had 15 for Wake Forest (21-5, 8-5 ACC), who shot 52.5 percent, held a 42-27 rebounding advantage and led nearly all the way.
After beginning the season 16-0, the young Deacons are just 5-5 in their last 10 games.

Tracy Smith scored 18 points to lead five double-figure scorers for the Wolfpack (15-11, 5-8), who were denied their second sweep of Wake Forest in coach Sidney Lowe's three seasons.

Johnson had a double-double by halftime and was 12-of-16 from the field to surpass his previous top performance of 26 points -- which he matched in the up-and-down Demon Deacons' most recent outing, a 101-91 loss four nights earlier at No. 7 Duke.

Jeff Teague finished with 12 points - nine fewer than his average - on 3-of-12 shooting in his second tough game against N.C. State, which used a box-and-one defense to limit him to three shots and 11 points in the previous meeting.

MIAMI 62, VIRGINIA 55 – This one had most of the trappings of a bump and grind Big Ten snoozefest including a 29-29 halftime score…ZZZZZZ.

Miami scoring machine Jack McClinton scored just 11 points, well below his average, but hit a huge 3-pointer with 47 seconds to play to give the Canes a two-possession cushion as they held on to beat Virginia 62-55.

Miami (17-10, 6-8 ACC) had been in a freefall of late, losing six of their last seven, but got some clutch shooting from McClinton when it mattered most down the stretch. His third 3-pointer gave Miami a 60-55 lead and he added two free throws with 19 seconds left.

Virginia (9-15, 3-10) had won two straight at home, but failed to score after Jeff Jones' 3-pointer produced the eighth tie of the half at 55 with 3:51 remaining. The Cavaliers committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions after pulling even, causing them to fall behind.

Interestingly, yet again, a large number of students and fans came to the game disguised as empty seats.

(AP Photos/Chuck Burton and the Miami Herald)