After surviving a physical contest in a hostile environment, Wake Forest returns home and seeks a sixth straight victory as it hosts North Carolina A&T on Thursday.
The fifth-ranked Demon Deacons (10-1) visited The Pit last Wednesday night and came away with an 81-64 victory over New Mexico in a game that featured 43 personal fouls. Chris Paul scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half as Wake Forest pulled away after holding a slim three-point lead at the half.
Paul, a 6-foot sophomore guard, is 10-of-16 from 3-point range and has made 11 steals over his last three games. On Tuesday, Paul and North Carolina's Sean May were selected USA Basketball co-Male Athletes of the Year by the USA Basketball Executive Committee.
Fellow guard Justin Gray shook off a hard fall and scored 11 of his 17 points during a key 4 1/2-minute stretch, when center Eric Williams was sitting out with four fouls.
"It got me going a little bit," Gray said of the hit he took. "There was a lot of pushing around, so when I got bumped up a little bit, it told me to take my game to another level and to play with higher intensity."
The Demon Deacons were not slowed by the physical play as Jamaal Levy grabbed 10 rebounds and Williams had eight in just 17 minutes. Wake Forest picked up a season-high 24 personal fouls and pulled down a season-high 34 offensive rebounds. The Demon Deacons also outrebounded the Lobos 47-34.
Junior guard Justin Gray scored 17 points, making 4 of 10 shots from the arc. He has hit at least one 3-pointer in 31 straight games.
"We talked to our three guards and said this game should never get away from us," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "They made a couple of runs and the place was ready to get loud, but I credit the poise of my players."
The Demon Deacons are 6-0 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum this season and open ACC play at Virginia on Sunday.
North Carolina A&T (1-10) has lost its last six games. Sophomore guard Sean Booker scored 19 points to lead the Aggies in a 73-54 loss to Tulane on Dec. 21. Booker is the only Aggie averaging in double figures at 18.9 points per game.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series 3-0. The teams are meeting in Winston-Salem for the third straight year. Williams scored 17 points to lead Wake Forest to a 91-67 win in the last meeting on Dec. 30, 2003.
The Demon Deacons are 12-0 all-time against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
