Wake Forest dominates Pitt from the jump in 91-75 win

Feb 2, 2022, 4:31 AM | Updated: 6:47 pm

Pittsburgh forward John Hugley (23) tries to save the ball from going out of play during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Allison Lee Isley

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Jake LaRavia scored nine of his 18 points in a little more than the first five minutes and Wake Forest went largely unchallenged in its 91-75 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.

The Demon Deacons (18-5, 8-4 ACC) bounced back in strong fashion following their 94-72 loss at Syracuse on Jan. 29. Wake Forest has won seven of its last nine games.

Wake Forest built a 9-0 lead and never trailed. The Demon Deacons extended their margin to 19-6 with LaRavia scoring nine on three 3-pointers. It wasn’t until Femi Odukale’s 3 with 11:52 before halftime that Pitt reached double digits to trail 21-11. Odukale made 1 of 2 foul shots and a pair of baskets to get within 23-16 with 9:36 before the break. But the Demon Deacons pulled away to outscore Pitt 23-8 to close the half and led 46-24 at halftime.

Wake Forest led by double digits the entire second half. The Demon Deacons shot 60% (15 for 25) in the first half and finished 54.9% (28 for 51) overall. Wake’s 15 3s were three more than shots made inside the arc.

Dallas Walton scored 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting and Alondes Williams just missed a triple-double with 15, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Wake Forest.

Odukale scored 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting and John Hugley scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Pitt (8-14, 3-8).

Pitt has a home-and-home hosting Virginia Tech on Saturday before heading to Blacksburg, Virginia to face the Hokies on Monday.

Wake Forest hits the road to face Florida State on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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