By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press Writer

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Coming off its first conference game and with a trip to St. John's on the horizon, Wake Forest could have easily looked past St. Francis, Pa., on Wednesday night.

Josh Howard wouldn't let it happen.

He scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half as No. 20 Wake Forest put away St. Francis, Pa., early in an 89-60 victory.

Wake Forest beat Florida State on Sunday and will travel to St. John's on Saturday. But the Demon Deacons didn't let up against St. Francis - a team with one winning record in 10 seasons.

"We knew we couldn't look forward to St. John's," said Howard, 7-of-8 in the first half and 9-for-11 overall. "We knew that St. Francis was a good team and we couldn't overlook them. We knew we had to play St. Francis before we play St. John's."

Wake Forest (8-2) scored the first 17 points and hit 36-of-64 shots to surpass 50 percent for the third straight game. The Demon Deacons have won their last three games by an average of 30 points and have six-game winning streak at home.

St. Francis (2-6) lost its third straight, all by 20 points or more. The Red Flash didn't score until Rahsaan Benton hit a 3-pointer with 13:13 left and had five turnovers in the first six minutes before settling down.

"I thought my young guys were a little intimidated," St. Francis coach Bobby Jones said. "I'm starting three freshmen and we're very good for our league, but when you come into this type of environment it's tough for anyone."

Bryan Martin led St. Francis with 15 points. Dan Swoger hit 4-of-9 from 3-point range and added 14 points.

The game got sloppy at times, with passes going to no one or off players' heads, and shots hitting off the bottom of the backboard.

During one sequence early in the second half, Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said "Wow, how about that pass?" after Broderick Hicks missed Darius Songaila on a breakout, then puffed his cheeks and bulged his eyes after another turnover. Wake Forest was leading by 21 points at the time.

"There were times where we didn't play well - raggedy, if you will," Prosser said. "In a game like this, you have a situation often times when you have a big lead where guys get very, very egocentric."

St. Francis missed its first five shots, but hit 5-of-7 during a 15-4 run to pull within 21-15 with nine minutes left. Martin keyed the spurt with consecutive 3-pointers off the bench.

"I felt like it was an opportunity to get my young guys out and to go with more experience," Jones said. "The thing I worry about in a game like this is for my freshmen to lose confidence."

Howard took over from there, hitting two 3-pointers and scoring nine points as the Demon Deacons pushed the lead to 49-28 by halftime.

Wake Forest made 21-of-34 shots in the first half.

Songaila, who had a career-high 29 points in a 93-72 victory over Florida State on Sunday, finished with 16 points. Antwan Scott added 12.

St. Francis hit 10-of-21 from 3-point range, but shot 37 percent overall.