National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Wake Forest 81, Notre Dame 69
When: 1:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Officials: # Karl Hess, # Bryan Kersey, # Tim Nestor
Attendance: N/A

Wake Forest 81, Notre Dame 69: Coron Williams made four 3-pointers en route to a season-high 25 points as the Demon Deacons defeated the Fighting Irish in the first round of the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

Devin Thomas contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as 12th-seeded Wake Forest (17-15) shot a season-high 61 percent from the field. Arnaud William Adala Moto added 12 points for the Demon Deacons, who play fifth-seeded Pittsburgh in Thursday's second round.

Pat Connaughton led the way with 19 points for No. 13 seed Notre Dame (15-17), playing its first ACC tournament game. Zach Auguste recorded 14 points and nine rebounds while Eric Atkins scored 13 and Garrick Sherman added 12 for the Fighting Irish, who were outrebounded 33-23.

Williams drained his third 3-pointer to ignite an 8-0 run that gave Wake Forest a 13-point lead with 3:50 left in the first half before Notre Dame closed within 37-29 at intermission. Two straight baskets by Connaughton pulled the Fighting Irish within 44-39 with a little over 14 minutes left.

Miles Overton made two 3-pointers to help the Demon Deacons push their lead back to nine and Codi Miller-McIntyre’s layup made it 55-43 with just under nine minutes to go. Thomas scored inside and completed a three-point play to extend the lead to 60-46 with 6:37 left and Notre Dame could not get closer than six the rest of the way.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Demon Deacons won their first ACC tournament game since 2007 after seven straight losses. … Notre Dame finishes under .500 for the first time in coach Mike Brey’s 14 seasons at the helm. … Williams, a transfer from Robert Morris, is 13-of-21 from 3-point range over the last four contests for Wake Forest.
Top Game Performances
 
Notre Dame   Wake Forest
Pat Connaughton 19 Scoring Coron Williams 25
Eric Atkins 7 Assists Codi Miller-McIntyre 6
Zach Auguste 9 Rebounds Devin Thomas 10
Eric Atkins 6 Free Throws Made Devin Thomas 9
Pat Connaughton 3 Steals Madison Jones 1
Zach Auguste 1 Blocks Devin Thomas 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Notre Dame 69 40.0 6-20 15-19 15 22 3 7 6
Wake Forest 81 61.0 7-10 24-32 14 28 1 3 15