Nov. 15, 2009

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GREENSBORO, N.C. - Al-Farouq Aminu added to an already impressive opening weekend, scoring 23 points and pulling down nine rebounds to lead Wake Forest to an 89-58 defeat of East Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.

With the win, Wake Forest moves to 2-0 on the young season. East Carolina drops to 1-1 with the loss.

Aminu led the Demon Deacons in both games this weekend, scoring 25 points against Oral Roberts on Friday followed by 23 today against the Pirates. He added 13 boards against ORU for a double-double and just missed another with nine rebounds against ECU. Aminu shot a combined 16-for-25 (64 percent) in the two games.

Ishmael Smith and Tony Woods joined Aminu in double-figure scoring on Sunday. Smith finished with 14 points, while Woods had 12. Smith also led the Deacs with four assists, pulled down six rebounds and had the first two dunks of his career. Woods chipped in six boards, five of which came in the first half.

The Deacon defense held East Carolina to just 24.6 percent shooting from the field. The Pirates also committed 22 turnovers on the afternoon.

Wake Forest, on the other hand, had a hot stroke hitting at a clip of 54.0 percent from the field. The Deacs had the advantage in the paint, outscoring the Pirates 58-20. Wake was also able to get out in transition, scoring 20 points on fastbreaks compared to zero for ECU.

East Carolina did most of its damage at the charity stripe. The Pirates went 27-for-40 for 67.5 percent at the line.

Wake Forest never trailed as it raced out to a quick 11-2 lead after the opening tip, scoring the first five points of the game. The Deacon defense held the Pirates held ECU without a field goal until the 15:37 mark of the first half and just 1-for-11 from the floor with seven turnovers over the first 11 minutes of the game.

ECU was able to pull within six, 24-18, at the 7:32 mark, but Wake took over from there. The Deacs closed the half on a 22-10 run to take a 46-28 lead into the locker room.

The Pirates shot just 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from the field in the first half, compared to 54.8 percent (17-for-31) for the Deacons. ECU got most of its point at the free throw line, going 17-for-20 at the line.

Aminu and Woods led the Deacs in the first half, scoring 10 and eight points respectively. The big men helped Wake outscore ECU 30-8 in the paint in the first half. Woods also pulled down five boards, while Ari Stewart chipped in seven points in the period.

After East Carolina's bench was assessed a technical foul after the halftime buzzer, Wake Forest began the second period with a pair of free throws from C.J. Harris to push its lead to 48-28.

The Deacons used a 12-4 run over the first 2:34 of the second half to push their advantage to 26 at 58-32. The Pirates were unable to cut the lead to under 20 the rest of the half, as Wake led by as many as 36.

The Deacons now lead the all-time series with ECU, 7-0. Wake picked up a 95-54 win in Greenville last season.

Today's game was a true road contest for the Deacons, despite playing in Greensboro. It was Wake Forest's first of two looks at the site of the 2010 ACC Tournament. Wake will also play in the Coliseum against UNC Greensboro on Dec. 28.

Wake Forest is back in action on Wednesday when the Deacons host Triad-rival High Point at 8 p.m. at the Joel Coliseum. The game will be the second in a doubleheader with the Wake Forest women's basketball team who hosts South Florida at 5 p.m.