Collegiate Times

It was bedlam in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the cheers were not coming from the home crowd. Virginia Tech (12-6, 3-1 ACC) upset No. 1 Wake Forest (16-1, 3-1) on their own floor at Lawrence Joel Coliseum – 78-71 on Wednesday evening.

The Hokies were not intimidated by the yellow and black mirage of tie-dye shirts in the student section. A solid effort from Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen and A.D. Vassallo prevailed as Tech won their second straight Atlantic Coast Conference bout, this one over a Wake team that beat both Clemson and North Carolina earlier this season. 

With a little less than eight minutes remaining, the Hokies lead, which had grown as large as 16, was cut in half to just eight - 62-54. 

The zone defense by Tech led to a missed shot. Allen then drained a three pointer to push the advantage to 13 - forcing Wake Forest to call a timeout.  

"I don't even remember them missing, and when they did, they got the rebounds," said Wake Forest's James Johnson. 

Overall, Tech shot 25 of 50 for the game.

The Deacons came out of the timeout strong with five straight points and after Delaney was fouled and hit one of two free throws, Jeff Teague grabbed a long offensive rebound and knocked down a three of his own to cut the lead to six.  It went down to four, then to two with 1:49 to go. 

But Wake Forest - the last unbeaten team in Division I - could not draw even.  They missed shots and were forced to foul on multiple occasions down the stretch.  The Hokies extended their advantage on the charity stripe. 

Delaney's foul shot gave Tech its 78th point, enough to give the program its third win ever against a No. 1 team - two of which have come under head coach Seth Greenberg.

Foul trouble plagued Wake from the start.  Two Deacon starters, Chas McFarland and Johnson, each picked up two quick personal fouls in the first six minutes of the game. 

The Hokies went on a crucial 15-0 run starting at the eight minute mark after a timeout called by Greenberg.  Tech eventually took a 10-point lead into the locker room, up 34-24 at halftime.

Tech's first half attack was well balanced, with no single scorer posting in double digits. 

Greenberg said he emphasized instilling flow in his offense through transition and ball screens to combat Wake Forest's massive frontcourt size.  Delaney, Vassallo and Thompson combined for 20 of the 34 first half points.   Tech was only out-rebounded 17-15 at intermission, a strong effort against a team ranked second in the nation in offensive rebounding.

In addition, the Hokies shot 10-of-14 from the free throw line, while the Deacons never attempted a foul shot.

"I thought our defense in the first half was great," Greenberg said. "It was as good as we can play defensively against that level of a team."

However, the Deacon offense would rise after halftime. Wake Forest would top their first half point total within the first 10 minutes of the second session, eventually cutting Tech's lead down to 68-62 with just over four minutes left. 

But over the final 1:53, the top-ranked team only had one field goal.

With one of the biggest wins in school history, Tech improved to 2-7 versus No. 1 teams.  The Hokies have a more impressive record against the group from Winston-Salem, with triumphs in five of their last six meetings.

"That team right there is scary good and we were very fortunate to win," Greenberg said.  "Now, our challenge is not to drink the cool aid... I'm proud of our guys, and we're getting better, but I'm also realistic enough to know... it's brutal each and every night." 

Delaney finished as the leading scorer with 21 points, despite going 6-of-14 from the field.  Vassallo and Allen each added 16 of their own.  Cheick Diakite contributed eight points off the bench to go along with five rebounds. 

Teague led all scorers with 23 points.  Johnson added 16 of his own and Williams and Aminu had 12 and 10, respectively.