Sports > December 6, 2007

By Ryan Durham | Sports editor

Facing their first real test of the season, Wake Forest came up short in the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Despite tying in the waning minutes of the game, the Demon Deacons could not stop the Commodore attack.

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(Haowei Tong/Old Gold & Black)

Wake Forest had a hard time containing the Commodore’s freshman center A.J. Ogilvy, who scored 10 points in the opening minutes of the game and 13 in the first half to go along with three rebounds.

Despite Ogilvy’s hard play and being down by as many as 10 points in the first half, the Deacs battled to within four points to go into the locker room with the score at 35-31.

Freshman sensation James Johnson led Wake Forest’s comeback with 10 points and nine rebounds in the first half.

The Deacs were also helped by sophomore Harvey Hale who hit three-of-four from behind the arc and scored 11 in the half.

This would not prove to be enough as the Deacons failed to capitalize on Commodore mistakes in the second half.

Vanderbilt pulled away in the final seconds of the half to clinch the close win 83-80.

Five Deacons scored in double figures, including Johnson who had his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Before facing the Commodores, the Deacs suffered their first loss of the season on the road to UNC-Charlotte Nov. 29, but trounced USC-Upstate at the Joel Dec. 1.

In Charlotte, Wake Forest maintained a slight lead throughout the first half, mainly due to the efforts of sophomore L.D. Williams and Johnson, who had almost half of the team’s dismal 29 points.

The Deacons maintained their lead through solid defense, which forced 10 turnovers and produced five steals in the first half alone.

Wake Forest began to struggle to keep its lead as the 49ers chipped away at it.UNC-Charlotte tied the score less than five minutes into the second half.Both teams sought to gain any advantage possible as they traded the lead back and forth throughout the half.

With three minutes left in the first half, the 49ers gained the lead and would not give it up for the remainder of the game, winning 63-59.

Despite the loss and low score, three Deacons managed to score in double digits in the game.

In addition to Johnson and Williams, junior Harvey Hale reached double digits with 12 points, shooting 2-5 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the charity stripe.

Johnson posted his second double-double of the season in the loss with 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead Wake Forest in both categories.Williams scored 13 points and had six rebounds in his effort.

The Deacs continued to struggle from the floor hitting only 35.1 percent of their shots overall, and a dismal 29 percent in the second half of the game.

Following the disappointing loss to the 49ers, the Demon Deacons made a quick turnaround to play the Spartans of USC-Upstate Dec. 1 at home.The Spartans stayed close to the Deacons through most of the first half, but 13 points off turnovers helped Wake Forest to a 12-point lead as the teams entered the locker room at halftime.The story proved to be the same in the second half as the Deacons increased their lead, creating visible dismay and frustration among the Spartan bench. By the end of the game, the Deacons had lengthened their lead to 24 points, making up for their performance against UNC-Charlotte.

“I’m happy with the win after coming off the lost Thursday night, playing in less than 48 hours,” Head Coach Dino Gaudio said in the postgame press conference.

Johnson once again proved integral for the Deacs, recording yet another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Three other Deacons had double-digit nights, sophomores Ishmael Smith and Chas McFarland and Hale. McFarland and Hale both had 12 points and Smith had 10 points to go along with four assists. The Deacon defense forced 17 turnovers and produced five steals in the game, but Wake Forest continued to struggle shooting, hitting only 32.7 percent of shots.

“When we came back from the Charlotte game, we broke the film and watched every shot we took,” Gaudio said. “There were a couple of situations today where we had the ball right there at the bucket, and we’re not going to get much closer than we’re getting. We just have to finish it, to finish the plays.”

Wake Forest next travels to Athens, Ga., to face the University of Georgia Dec. 8 before taking nine days off for exams.