Men's Basketball Defeats Florida State, 69-68
Robert O'Kelley leads Demon Deacons with 26 points.
Feb. 21, 1998
By JOE MACENKA
AP Sports Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Robert O'Kelley had 26 points, including the
decisive 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining, and Wake Forest kept its postseason
hopes alive with a 69-68 victory over Florida State on Saturday.
Steven Goolsby added 15 points as the Demon Deacons (14-11, 6-8 Atlantic
Coast Conference) put together their first two-game winning streak in nearly a
month and stayed in the hunt for fourth place in the league.
The Seminoles (16-12, 5-10) lost their fifth consecutive game and are in
seventh place in the ACC.
After 12 lead changes and 11 ties, Florida State had a chance to win it on
the final possession, but LaMarr Greer missed a 12-footer from the left
baseline and Corey Louis couldn't convert the tip at the buzzer.
Greer and teammate Terrell Baker, who came in averaging nearly 24 points
between them, struggled to get quality shots in the first half and got in foul
trouble in the second. Baker didn't make any field goals in the first half, and
Greer didn't make his first until there was 12:34 left in the game.
Baker finished with 18 points, including 15 in the second half, and the
Seminoles also got 16 points and 11 rebounds from Louis and 11 points from
Randell Jackson. Greer had two points on 1-for-8 field-goal shooting.
The Demon Deacons had just four turnovers in the first half but turned it
over four times in five possessions midway through the second half. Wake
Forest's miscues fueled a 9-2 run that put Florida State up 57-54 on a
turnaround jumper by Louis with 7:37 left.
Wake Forest rallied and took the lead to stay on a 3-pointer by Tony Rutland
that made it 66-63 with 2:37 remaining.
After Rutland forced a turnover on the other end, O'Kelley hit a 3-pointer
that put the Demon Deacons up by six - their biggest lead of the game.
Baker scored the next five points to give the Seminoles a shot at the end.
