WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Four double-figure scorers for Wake Forest, led by 19 from Jeff Teague, helped the No. 6 Demon Deacons take control of a back-and-forth second half in an 83-61 win over Radford in men's basketball at Joel Coliseum Tuesday night.
"I'm extremely proud of our team," said head coach Brad Greenberg. "We went toe-to-toe for 30-plus minutes with the sixth-ranked team in the country. Our effort was great and our focus was excellent. Wake Forest is a great team."
Teague scored 11 of his game-high 19 in the second half, as Wake Forest (12-0) shot 52.9 percent from the field in the period to pull away from the Highlanders (4-9).
Radford trailed 39-32 at the break, but took back the lead on a 16-8 start to the second half, capped by junior Art Parakhouski's (Minsk, Belarus) back-to-back buckets to give the Highlanders a 48-47 edge with 14:12 left.
Parakhouski, who earned his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds, had seven points and 10 rebounds in the second half, helping the Highlanders post a 45-39 rebounding edge over the Demon Deacons.
"Art was outstanding," Greenberg said. "Sixteen rebounds against that front line of Wake Forest, along with 15 points was a great effort. I'm proud of what he did tonight."
Wake responded with a 7-1 swing to take back control, sparked by four points from Teague including a three-point play at 12:02 to give the Demon Deacons a 54-49 advantage.
Then, with just under nine minutes left, Teague capped a game-clinching 8-2 run with a steal and a one-handed slam to give Wake a 62-54 lead. The Demon Deacons held Radford scoreless for 2:18 while opening up a lead that grew to 70-51 on a Teague layup at 6:10.
Along with Teague, three other Wake starters hit double figures, including Al-Farouq Aminu's 18 points and 10 rebounds, and James Johnson's 12 points and rebounds.
Radford got 14-point efforts from junior Joey Lynch-Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) and senior Kenny Thomas (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs).
Wake Forest led following a first half that included seven ties and 10 lead changes, and Radford went out in front for the first time 4:31 into the game when Parakhouski knocked down a layup on a jump-stop in the lane, giving the Highlanders a 10-9 lead.
The bucket sparked a 7-2 spurt that saw the Highlanders go ahead 15-11 on a Parakhouski free throw at the 12:19 mark. Radford's advantage stretched to five twice, and Lynch-Flohr made it a 22-17 game on his hook shot in the lane with 9:37 remaining.
Wake Forest scored seven unanswered to go back in front, taking a 24-22 lead on Teague's runner in the lane at 7:29.
The Highlanders went back ahead, 26-24, on Parakhouski's two-handed dunk on an inbounds pass from the right side from junior Amir Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley), but an 11-0 Wake run over the next 2:51 made it 35-26 with 2:46 remaining in the half.
Radford begins its first of 16-straight Big South Conference games on Saturday, traveling to Presbyterian for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Box Score
