Wake Forest Romps in Battle of Unbeatens

Darius Songaila helped Lithuania to a bronze medal in the Olympics. He looks ready to help fourth-ranked Wake Forest challenge for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

The unbeaten Demon Deacons rolled over previously undefeated and eighth-ranked Virginia, 96-73, Tuesday night at Winston-Salem, N.C., in the conference opener for both teams.

And it was another big guy who led the way as Wake Forest (12-0) scored its most points against Virginia (10-1) since 1968.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Songaila made 11 of 12 shots and scored a career-high 27 points for the Demon Deacons, who made 58% of their shots and won their 17th consecutive game dating to last year’s NIT championship.

“He’s a killer. He’s a mangler,” Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said of the Wake Forest junior. “He kills innocent bystanders sometimes in the post. He was knocking people around and if you can do that he’s going to be tough to guard.”

No. 13 North Carolina 84, Georgia Tech 70--Joseph Forte scored 20 points and the Tar Heels (10-2) overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat the Yellow Jackets (8-4) in an ACC opener at Atlanta.

No. 14 Syracuse 79, No. 21 Notre Dame 70--Allen Griffin scored 11 of his 20 points over the final 3:42 and Damone Brown had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the second consecutive game to lead the Orangemen (12-1) over the Irish (8-3) in a Big East opener at Syracuse, N.Y.

No. 17 Maryland 104, Clemson 92--Terence Morris scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and the Terrapins (10-3) won their ninth consecutive game, pulling away from the Tigers (9-5) in the final five minutes of an ACC opener at Clemson, S.C.

No. 18 Alabama 92, Southeastern Louisiana 63--Rod Grizzard scored 22 points to help the Crimson Tide (11-1) beat the Lions (4-8) at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

No. 23 Iowa State 95, Illinois Chicago 44--Reserves Shane Power and Tyray Pearson each scored 14 points as the Cyclones (12-1) blew out the Flames (6-7) at Ames, Iowa.

Portland 80, UC Riverside 78--Travis Andrews’ layup with 1.1 seconds left in the second overtime lifted the Pilots (6-6) over the Highlanders (4-9) at Riverside.

WOMEN

No. 1 Connecticut 107, Georgetown 45--Shea Ralph scored 19 points to help the Huskies (10-0, 2-0) roll over the Hoyas (8-4, 0-1) in a Big East game at Storrs, Conn.

No. 2 Tennessee 58, No. 9 Rutgers 51--Michelle Snow scored 15 points and Tamika Catchings had 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Vols (12-1) over the Lady Knights (8-3) at New York.

No. 5 Duke 81, Wake Forest 56--Iciss Tillis scored 16 points to lead the Blue Devils (13-1, 1-1) over the Demon Deacons (7-5, 0-2) in an ACC game at Durham, N.C.

Virginia 77, No. 16 North Carolina State 64--Schuye LaRue had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cavaliers (10-4, 2-0) to an ACC victory over the Wolfpack (9-3, 1-2) at Charlottesville, Va.

Maryland 85, No. 18 Clemson 73--Marche Strickland scored 20 points to help the Terrapins (10-3, 1-1) to an overtime victory over the Tigers (10-3, 1-1) in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

No. 23 Vanderbilt 70, Temple 51--Jillian Danker scored 26 points to lead the Commodores (10-2) over the Owls (7-3) at Nashville.

No. 24 Oregon 62, Boise State 29--The Ducks (7-3) scored the final 26 points of the game to rout the Broncos (3-9) at Eugene, Ore.

Loyola Marymount 64, No. 25 Utah 58--Adrianne Slaughter scored 15 points to lead the Lions (8-4) over the Utes (11-2) at Salt Lake City.