No. 17 FSU Overpowers Wake, 88-66

Despite being one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the ACC, Wake Forest used the trey to hang around early before eventually running out of gas against No. 17 Florida State at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Wednesday night, 88-66.

The Demon Deacons (9-14, 2-9 ACC) were 8-for-16 from distance at one point and led by as many as five in the first half. FSU (19-5, 7-4 ACC) closed the first half on an 8-1 run to lead 38-31 at the break.

Wake Forest got as close as six in the second half before a 19-6 FSU run gave the Seminoles the breathing room they needed to cruise to victory. Despite a solid 11-for-25 night from deep, Wake Forest shot just 39 percent as a team to FSU’s 57 percent. Florida State shot 10 of 26 from deep and held a healthy 43-27 edge on the glass.

Christ Koumadje, a 7-foot-4 senior center, recorded his first career double-double with 20 points on 10 of 12 shooting and a career-high 12 rebounds with two blocks. Phil Cofer added 13 points in the win on an efficient 5-for-6 with three made triples. P.J. Savoy also knocked down three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points.

Orlando native Chaundee Brown paced the Demon Deacons with 20 points on 7-for-12 and 3-for-5 from deep. Leading scorer Brandon Childress added 11 points for Wake in the loss.

Wake Forest has now lost six of seven as it returns home to face North Carolina on Saturday. FSU will aim for its seventh straight victory as it travels to face Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson