Wake Forest Beats Boston College 92-78 To Advance To Second Round Of ACC Tournament

The Wake Forest men’s basketball team reached an important feat on Tuesday night.

The Demon Deacons secured their first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament victory in three years with a 92-78 win over the hopeless Boston College Eagles at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Austin Arians scored a season-high 17 points for No. 10 Wake Forest (19-12), thus helping lead his team to the second round of the ACC Tournament.

“The last four games we’ve played have been some of our best basketball,” Arians said.

The Deacons, who have won four straight, will next face seventh-seeded Virginia Tech (21-9) at Barclays Center on Wednesday. Wake Forest defeated the Hokies 89-84 in Virginia on Saturday to end the regular season.

“I can’t say for sure. Selection Sunday we’ll find out if 19 is the number that we end on, but that’s not our goal,” said Arians, who has scored in double-digits in each game against Boston College this season. “Our goal is to win as many games here in New York as possible.”

Last-place Boston College (9-23) ends its season on a 15-game losing streak and with star Ky Bowman injured. The freshman guard landed hard on his right leg attempting to block a shot in the first half and returned to the bench in the second half wearing a giant knee brace.

Arians, who was averaging 7.9 points, scored 12 in nine minutes of the first half, shooting 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Bryant Crawford scored 20 points and Keyshawn Woods added 17 for Wake Forest. Woods went end-to-end with a steal and sank a one-handed shot while getting fouled to put the Deacs ahead 73-60 with 7:34 remaining in the second half.

Boston College coach Jim Christian is now 29-67 in three seasons with the Eagles, although his job seems to be safe with the university in the process of finding a new athletic director.

Christian said the team would not know the extent of Bowman’s injury until MRI exam was performed back in the Boston area.

Wake Forest’s John Collins, runner-up for ACC Player of the Year, finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Boston College has now ended its sixth straight season without reaching a postseason tournament.

Selection Sunday is next Sunday, March 12, and the NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin March 14.

GREENSBORO, NC – MARCH 10: Ari Stewart #20 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons kicks Gabriel Moton #4 of the Boston College Eagles in the face during the second half of the game in the first round of the 2011 ACC men’s basketball tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 10, 2011 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)