Virginia Tech upsets No. 1 Wake Forest 78-71

[January 22, 2009]  WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Virginia Tech made sure there are no unbeaten teams left in Division I.

Malcolm Delaney scored 21 points and the Hokies held on to upset No. 1 Wake Forest 78-71 on Wednesday night.

A.D. Vassallo and Jeff Allen added 16 points each for the Hokies (12-6, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). They led nearly from the opening tip to the final buzzer, pushed their lead to 16 and made it stand up for their first victory over a No. 1 team since they beat North Carolina two seasons ago in Blacksburg.

Jeff Teague scored 23 points and James Johnson added 18 before fouling out with 1:17 remaining for Wake Forest (16-1, 3-1), which was playing as the nation's top-ranked team for the first time since November 2004.

The Demon Deacons' early 16-point deficit was by far their biggest of the season, and they trailed by 10 at halftime before they made it a game again. They used a 14-4 run early in the second half that brought them within single digits, then cut it to two twice in the final 4 minutes -- the last coming when Teague's 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining made it 71-69.

But Delaney hit two free throws 7 seconds later and the Hokies allowed one field goal after that to clinch one of the biggest victories in school history.

Virginia Tech improved to 3-6 against top-ranked teams -- and continued its dominance of the Demon Deacons. The Hokies have won five of their last six meetings with Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons' school-record 16-0 start is history, and its next home game -- a Jan. 28 showdown with Duke -- suddenly looks less appealing now that it might not be a 1-vs.-2 matchup.

L.D. Williams finished with 12 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 10 for Wake Forest, which looked nothing like the nation's top-ranked team early on.

That's largely because the Hokies' physical defense took the Demon Deacons out of their game.

Virginia Tech erased Wake Forest's only lead by outscoring them 23-6 over an 11-minute span, going up 30-14 on Victor Davila's layup with 4:18 remaining.

Wake Forest didn't attempt a free throw in the first half -- while the Hokies were 10-for-14 from the stripe -- and for a stretch of 13 minutes, Teague was the only Demon Deacon to score. The rest of his teammates were a combined 0-for-9 during that span.

[Associated Press; By JOEDY McCREARY]

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