After an emotional win over #1 Duke earlier in the week, Wake Forest found out that there are no easy games in the ACC. The Demon Deacons faced off with Georgia Tech, previously win-less in ACC play and came away with their second loss of the season in a scrappy, physical game in Atlanta.
"We should have been," Dino Gaudio said when asked if his team was ready for that type of game. "One of the things we did last night was we must have showed them 15 physical plays from last year."
But the Deacs weren't quite ready for the Yellow Jackets' tenacity. "We knew what was coming and they hit us, but we didn't react the right way," guard Ishmael Smith said. "We complained to the refs and didn't play our game, things like that."
Wake Forest (17-2, 4-2) was led by Norcross, Georgia native Al-Farouq Aminu who ended the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Teague pitched in 16 in the loss while James Johnson added 13.
The Yellow Jackets, who picked up their first ACC win of the season to improve to 10-10 overall, 1-6 in conference play, were led by Gani Lawal who scored 25 and collected 10 rebounds. Lewis Clinch scored 19 for the Yellow Jackets and the other Aminu brother, Alade Aminu, scored 10 and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win.
Wake Forest hopes to rebound Wednesday night as the Deacons continue ACC play with a road showdown against Miami.
Click here for postgame comments from Coach Gaudio, James Johnson, Ish Smith, Tony Woods, and Jeff Teague from Atlanta.