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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Dave Odom's advice turned out to be right on target for Wake Forest's Robert O'Kelley.
While he was missing his first 11 field-goal attempts Wednesday night, O'Kelley kept hearing the same message from the Demon Deacons' coach.
"Keep shooting," Odom said. "I told him to keep shooting and
it will happen."
|  | | North Carolina's Julius Peppers and Wake Forest's Rafael Vidaurreta fight for control of a loose ball. |
O'Kelley followed his coach's suggestions and made up for a
miserable start with a furious finish that rallied Wake Forest to a
66-57 victory over North Carolina (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP).
O'Kelley scored 13 points in a 28-9 run that helped the Demon Deacons (11-4, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) end a six-game losing skid against the Tar Heels.
"A lot of players would have lost their courage and stopped
shooting. He didn't," Odom said of O'Kelley, who made six of his
last seven shots and finished with 18 points, all in the final
14:12, as Wake Forest erased a 10-point deficit.
Given the way he started the game, O'Kelley was bracing himself to get benched by Odom.
"I was thinking in the back of my mind that maybe he would,"
O'Kelley said. "But he had confidence in me, so I kept confidence
in myself and I came out in the second half and did well."
The late surge by the Demon Deacons' best scorer sent North Carolina (11-5, 2-1) to its first loss in four games. It also
represented the first time in nine games this season that the Tar
Heels lost after leading at halftime.
North Carolina, which came in shooting an ACC-leading 51
percent, was held to a season-low 38 percent and had 18 turnovers.
"Our offensive efficiency was just horrible," coach Bill
Guthridge said.
Kris Lang led the Tar Heels with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Seven-foot center Brendan Haywood, once again outplayed by a
smaller opponent, had eight points and just three rebounds in 31
minutes. Freshman Joseph Forte, North Carolina's top scorer, missed
nine of his 10 field-goal attempts and had eight points.
"I don't think anybody from North Carolina did very well, from
the head coach on down," Guthridge said.
Darius Songaila added 16 points for the Demon Deacons.
O'Kelley's first field goal came on a driving layup with 10:22
left. He was fouled by Jason Capel on the play and made the free
throw to cut Wake Forest's deficit to 39-38, but both O'Kelley and
the Demon Deacons were far from done.
O'Kelley made four of his next five field-goal attempts and
added two steals to finish off the run. He ended the surge by
stripping the ball from Forte and going the length of the floor for
a layup that put Wake Forest up 53-44 with 5:43 remaining.
The Demon Deacons stretched it to 57-46 on a short bank shot by O'Kelley at the 4:10 mark, and North Carolina was unable to cut it below seven the rest of the way.
Wake Forest shot 30 percent in the first half, including an
0-for-8 showing by O'Kelley. North Carolina held Wake Forest
without a field goal for more than eight minutes, setting the stage
for the Tar Heels to close the half with a 13-6 run for a 28-21
lead.
The Tar Heels would have had a bigger cushion if not for their poor ball-handling. North Carolina had nine first-half turnovers
that the Demon Deacons converted into eight points.
O'Kelley's first point came on a foul shot that cut North
Carolina's lead to 33-25, but Brendan Haywood answered with a dunk
at the 13:49 mark that gave the Tar Heels their first and only
double-digit lead.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
North Carolina Clubhouse
Wake Forest Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Broderick Hicks launches the long-range 3-pointer.
avi: 629 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Robert O'Kelly gets the steal and the "easy" bucket.
avi: 806 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Robert O'Kelley drives hard in the paint for the layup.
avi: 630 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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