Dec. 6, 1997
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Tony Rutland scored 24 in a losing effort. (File Photo)
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Wake Forest Loses to No. 10 Utah
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Andre Miller scored six of his 20 points in a key second-half
run as 10th-ranked Utah used a suffocating defense to turn back
host and number 24 Wake Forest, 62-53.
Hanno Mottola added 16 for the Utes (7-0), who won for the first
time in three tries against Wake Forest and avenged a 70-59
defeat to the Demon Deacons from last season. Utah held the
Deacons to six baskets in the second half.
Tony Rutland scored 24 points for Wake Forest (6-1), which was
held to its lowest total of the season. Rutland scored the
Deacons' final 11 points.
Wake Forest took its final lead at 40-38 with 10:14 to play
after Rutland hit two free throws, but Miller triggered a 13-2
burst with a layup to tie the game 72 seconds later.
After Rutland and Loren Woods missed shots, Miller fed Drew
Hansen, who converted a layup and free throw for a three-point
play. Jerry Braswell hit a 19-footer to draw Wake Forest within
43-42, but Jon Carlisle hit a pair of foul shots to restore the
three-point lead with 7:06 left.
Braswell missed a three-pointer, and Mottola used an
up-and-under move to push the lead to five. Miller followed a
pair of misses by Wake Forest freshman Robert O'Kelley with a
layup and 12-footer, respectively, to cap the run and give the
Utes a 51-42 bulge with 4:25 remaining.
But Rutland would not let his team die, going on a personal 7-0
run with two three-pointers around a free throw. His second
three-pointer, a 22-footer from the top of the key, pulled the
Deacons within 51-49 at the 2:55 mark.
Wake Forest went to a 3-2 zone on Utah's ensuing possession, but
Michael Doleac freed himself from Woods on the right block and
hit a 12-footer with 2:20 to play for a four-point Utah lead.
Rutland missed a 10-footer, and Miller iced the game with a
nine-foot bank shot with 1:47 left to make it 55-49.
Utah threatened to blow the Deacons out of their own building
with a 12-2 run in the first six minutes, but Wake Forest
righted itself and was able to take a 31-28 halftime lead behind
11 points from Rutland.
