Wake Forest Defeats Radford 80-59 In Season Opener

Follow Me on Twitter: @JHansgenVAVEL

It wasn't a perfect game by any means, but the Wake Forest Demon Deacons won comfortably over the Radford Highlanders on Friday night.  John Collins led the Deacons with a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds).  Wake Forest did not play their best, but maintained a comfortable lead over the Highlanders throughout.  Wake Forest never trailed in the game.  As the season goes on, the Deacons will need to perform better, but for now a win is a win.  Coach Danny Manning said after the game, "I thought we did some decent things at times, but we have a lot to work on."

In the first half, the game looked to be too much for Radford as turnovers piled up.  The Highlanders fell behind early and ten minutes into the game, they found themselves down 15-5.  Radford hung around however, due to Wake Forest's offense not really finding their rhythm.  With just 21 seconds left in the half, Radford had the ball down six and should have had the final possession of the half, but Bryant Crawford came up with a steal that led to free throws for Wake Forest. That Radford mistake gave the Deacons an 8-point lead at the break.

Bryant Crawford had 14 points, 8 assists against Radford, photo courtesy of wakeforestsports.com

The story of the second half was Wake Forest's post presence.  They made it a priority in the second half to go inside the paint for points.  The first 15 points Wake Forest scored in the second half were scored by their leading big men, Dinos Mitoglou, John Collins and Doral Moore.  This offensive strategy paid off as the Deacons' field goal percentage improved from 36.4% in the first half to 62.5% in the second.  

Another success for Wake Forest was the play off the bench by newcomers Brandon Childress and Keyshawn Woods.  Childress passed the ball well with five assists and no turnovers while Woods provided much needed bench scoring with 14 points going 6 for 11 from the field.  They each played over 20 minutes off the bench.  It'll be interesting to see if that continues throughout the season.  

Wake Forest has a quick turnaround and will host Bucknell on Sunday afternoon.  Bucknell was a tough opponent for Wake Forest last year and should be a good test early in the year for the Deacons. 

Cover image courtesy of Andrew Dye/Winston-Salem Journal