Men's Basketball Defeats High Point, 79-35
Deacons hold Panthers to lowest point total by an opponent in 52 years.
Dec. 17, 1999
Box Score
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Dave Odom has seen all the dunks and fancy
offensive moves from Antwan Scott. The Wake Forest coach will now demand the
entire package from his sophomore forward.
Scott posted career highs with 15 points and nine rebounds as the
25th-ranked Demon Deacons held High Point without a basket for a 14 1/2-minute
span in a 79-35 victory Friday night.
Scott came into the game ninth on the team in minutes played, but will
likely play a key role now with the loss of starter Darius Songaila.
Songaila, the team's second leading scorer and rebounder, sprained a
ligament in his right knee during a fall under the basket less than a minute
into the second half.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore, who averages 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds, was
helped to the locker room without putting much weight on his leg and did not
return. Odom said Songaila is doubtful for Monday night's game at Arkansas and
could be lost for a week to 10 days.
"Where one door closes another one opens," Odom said. "You guys have been
asking for him, now you're going to get him. Here comes Antwan.
"We'll see. We'll see if he can play defense. We'll see if he can rebound
against the highest level of college basketball, because that's what we've got
coming."
The point total by the Panthers was the lowest against the Demon Deacons
(7-1) in 52 years. Wake Forest held Atlantic Christian to 30 points during the
1947-48 season.
"From where I was sitting they looked pretty good," High Point coach Jerry
Steele said, tongue-in-cheek. "That's a mild statement. We had trouble
scoring. You are all aware of that."
Scott's points came in just 21 minutes. His previous high was 13 twice,
while his rebound high was seven against Mercer in 1998.
Scott said he's ready to increase his playing time.
"I have been ready," Scott said. "This is the happiest I've been all
year. Last year at this time I wasn't as happy. If my number is called I'm
going to be ready."
Anthony Jackson led High Point (5-2) with 11 points.
High Point trailed 41-15 at halftime after going without a basket over the
final 6:41 of the half. Then the Panthers didn't score in the second half until
Brooks Lee nailed a 3-pointer with 12 minutes left. By that time the Panthers
were down 54-15.
Wake Forest started slow following a 15-minute pregame ceremony honoring
Steele, who coached Odom at Guilford in the 1960s.
In fact, Wake Forest had a three-minute span without scoring before Robert
O'Kelley got hot, scoring 12 points in less than two minutes.
The junior guard started his scoring spree with a 16-footer, then nailed
three straight 3-pointers - his first long-range shot turning into a four-point
play after he was fouled - as Wake Forest took a 21-5 lead.
The Panthers closed to 26-13 with 6:42 left before the half, but were held
to two free throws over the final 6 1/2 minutes as the Demon Deacons closed the
half on a 15-2 run.
High Point, playing its first full-fledged Division I schedule this season
after moving up from Division II in 1997, managed just five field goals in the
opening 20 minutes as Wake Forest used all 13 players.
Wake Forest's second-half run was 13-0 before Brooks broke the ice.
"We weren't awesome, but it didn't call for an awesome performance
either," Odom said. "We were good and I was pleased with how we played. It's
a hard game to play because you sense you could go to 100 points if you really
went after it, but that's not us and that's not important to me."
Steele, who played on Wake Forest's 1961 Atlantic Coast Conference
championship team, was returning to the bench after missing one game with the
flu.
