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NEW YORK (AP) -- Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian kept shaking his head back and forth and repeating the same thing.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
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Wed, November 21
Wake Forest's players needed this win more than coach Skip Prosser. Prosser knows his system of uptempo play and quick shots works. He did it at Xavier; he'll do it at Wake Forest.
But the Demon Deacons needed this win for them to see that it works. They held off UNC-Wilmington by one, they won at Arkansas and then Wednesday beat Fresno State on an offensive putback from Darius Songaila.
"It doesn't really help me becasue I'm confident that the system is a good system," Prosser said. "The players have to take it on a blind trust and have me tell them that it really works. These guys saw it once when they came to play Cincinnati against Xavier in the NIT a few years ago.
"I'm convinced that ultimately we're going to be a good pressing team," Prosser said. "But right now to paraphrase from Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, we're playing 40 minutes of heck as opposed to 40 minutes of hell. We're finding a way through this right now."
The difference with this Wake Forest team from a year ago isn't necessarily coaching or a style, but rather players who are ready to make plays. Josh Howard took the corner shot with the Demon Deacons down one and then Songaila was willing to go inside and go for the offensive putback. The seniors weren't used to winning close games and it showed when Antwan Scott, Craig Dawson, Broderick Hicks and Songaila hugged in a circle on the court after the buzzer sounded, showing how important this late November game was to their season.
Fresno State needed to be as assertive. Chris Jefferies had two chances to make plays late in the game for the Bulldogs but dumped the ball off twice in to players who missed shots. Jefferies needed to be selfish and finish the plays himself, something that he might end up doing as the season progresses.
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Tarkanian had just watched the Bulldogs (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 23 AP) wipe out a 16-point deficit against Wake Forest on Wednesday night, take the
lead and then let the game get away in the final seconds as the Demon Deacons won their Preseason NIT semifinal 62-61.
Darius Songaila put back a missed shot with 1.7 seconds left for the victory, causing more aggravation for Tarkanian.
"They missed the easy shot and got the tip-in," he said, still shaking his head. "I just hope we don't play like that again."
The victory put Wake Forest (4-0) in Friday's championship game
against No. 18 Syracuse, which defeated (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP)Michigan State 69-58 in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader. Fresno State plays Michigan State in the consolation game.
"Playing Syracuse will be difficult," coach Skip Prosser said. "But it beats not playing them."
Prosser said Wake Forest let the lead get away because of what he called "a plethora of breakdowns defensively." Fresno seemed to take advantage of all of them.
"Fresno played hard and well to come back and take the lead,"
he said. "We didn't play well in the second half."
Wake Forest used a flurry of 3-point baskets, including four by Craig Dawson in the first half, to open the 16-point lead. Dawson, who made 11 of 22 shots from behind the arc in Wake's first three games, kept up the hot hand against Fresno. He hit two long-range shots in the first five minutes and finished with 12 points.
Meanwhile, Fresno (2-1) missed all but one of 11 3-point attempts in the first half and fell behind 41-30. The Bulldogs were 3-for-21 for the game from behind the arc.
But Fresno came back using some stubborn defense and hot
shooting by Chris Jefferies and Melvin Ely to overtake Wake Forest.
Travis DeManby's second 3-pointer gave Fresno a 56-53 lead.
Wake Forest came right back, using a pair of baskets by Antwan
Scott and a 3-pointer by Broderick Hicks to move back in front at
60-57.
Baskets by Noel Felix and Ely gave Fresno the lead again and
Wake Forest twice missed opportunities to regain the lead.
Then Felix missed a pair of foul shots, giving Wake Forest one last chance with 10.2 seconds to play. Hicks missed a shot but Songaila put the rebound in for the victory.
Scott and Hicks led Wake Forest with 14 points apiece. Ely had
16 points and 12 rebounds to pace Fresno State.
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Wake Forest vs. Fresno St.