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Deacs take finale: Smith sparks Wake Forest past WSSU 76-52
Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman
C.J. Harris of Wake Forest beats Paul Davis of Winston-Salem State to the basket in the first half.
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Published: November 25, 2009
After a less-than-rousing start to his senior season, guard Ish Smith of Wake Forest got it together last night in time to take Winston-Salem State apart in the final game of the Twin City Shootout.
"The first game and the scrimmage game you probably saw people scratching their head at the way I performed," Smith said.
Averaging three turnovers a game and shooting just 38 percent from the floor through three games, Smith broke out to make seven of nine field-goal attempts, score 16 points and dish out three assists without a turnover while leading the Deacons to a 76-52 romp in front of 9,097 at Joel Coliseum.
The taller and deeper Deacons (4-0) held WSSU to 32 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle 40-33, but really dominated their cross-town opponents in transition, scoring 21 fast-break points compared to none by the Rams (1-4).
"Ish is just so quick, we just couldn't contain him," Coach Bobby Collins of WSSU said. "He broke us down anytime he wanted to."
Smith, back in the starting lineup at point guard after playing a sixth-man role last season, was far more than guard Marcus Wells of the Rams could handle. Wells, a freshman from Durham playing only his fifth game of college basketball, scrapped his way to nine points and six rebounds. But he also was responsible for three of the Rams' 17 turnovers.
And his inability to check Smith at the point was apparent when WSSU spent long stretches in a zone defense.
"What impressed me the most was how Ish ran his team," Wells said. "That was pretty strong, and I can learn a lot from that."
Freshman C.J. Harris scored 16 points and classmate Ari Stewart added 13 -- both season highs -- and sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu weathered foul trouble well enough to contribute 13 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes.
The Rams hung tough for eight minutes, and even pulled ahead at 13-12 on a three-point play by Wells. But after Lamar Monger's two free throws tied the game at 15 with 12:42 left in the half, the Deacons scored 16 straight points to take charge.
Smith, who was 2 for 12 from the floor with five turnovers in the opener against Oral Roberts, said he had to readjust to being the Deacons' undisputed floor leader after Jeff Teague left for the NBA after his sophomore season. Smith, saddled by a broken foot in the preseason, played in 29 of the Deacons' 31 games last year but didn't start.
He started 30 games as a freshman, and 30 as a sophomore.
"It's funny because it's kind of new now," Smith said. "I did it my freshman year and as a sophomore I did it. My junior year you kind of forget when you're not in that position. I kind of played more of a reserve role, more of the sparkplug last year.
"But now this year I had to get adjusted to it."
But if the critics were hard on him, he never knew it. He maintains he's played far too much college basketball to worry about what people are saying about him.
"One thing I had to learn when I was young was I used to listen to that and let it get to me," Smith said. "Now that's not the case anymore. I think I'm kind of the old guy now. I just relax and just play and do something I've been doing since I was young...."
dcollins@wsjournal.com.
727-7323
WSSU Min FG-A FT-A R-T A PF Pts
Carter 32 2-11 2-2 1-6 0 1 7
Alcius 26 1-8 0-0 1-5 2 4 2
Morris 19 0-2 0-2 0-1 0 3 0
Wells 32 3-7 3-3 1-6 2 2 9
Fisher 26 5-12 0-0 0-2 1 2 12
Monger 13 2-6 3-3 2-2 0 1 7
Jackson 25 4-9 2-2 0-1 1 2 11
Kennings 2 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Platt 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Davis 19 1-3 0-1 5-7 0 4 2
Hobbs 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Johnson 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200 19-59 10-13 12-33 7 19 52
Percentages: FG .322, FT .769. 3-Point Goals: 4-26, .154 (Fisher 2-6, Jackson 1-6, Carter 1-7, Wells 0-2, Alcius 0-2, Monger 0-3). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 17 (Jackson 4, Wells 3, Alcius 2, Fisher 2, Carter 2, Davis 2, Monger). Steals: 5 (Alcius 2, Monger, Davis, Fisher). Technical Fouls: None.
WFU Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF Pts
Aminu 22 5-9 2-3 3-4 2 4 13
Woods 22 1-3 1-3 1-6 0 3 3
McFarland 25 0-3 1-2 1-4 2 2 1
Smith 30 7-9 1-2 0-2 3 1 16
Williams 26 4-7 1-1 1-3 5 1 9
Harris 27 5-7 4-4 0-5 1 2 16
Stewart 22 6-13 0-0 3-8 2 1 13
Walker 9 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Godwin 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Weaver 15 2-4 0-0 2-4 1 3 5
Totals 200 30-57 10-16 11-40 17 17 76
Percentages: FG .526, FT .625. 3-Point Goals: 6-17, .353 (Harris 2-3, Weaver 1-2, Smith 1-2, Aminu 1-3, Stewart 1-5, Williams 0-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 9 (Woods 4, Walker 3, Weaver 2). Turnovers: 16 (Harris 5, Weaver 3, Aminu 3, Williams 2, Stewart, Walker, McFarland). Steals: 10 (Smith 2, Aminu 2, Weaver 2, Woods, Stewart, McFarland, Williams). Technical Fouls: None.
Winston-Salem State 25 27 -- 52
Wake Forest 41 35 -- 76
A--9,097
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