Grant powers Notre Dame past Wake Forest
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South Bend, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Jerian Grant powered No. 10 Notre Dame to a thorough 88-75 victory over Wake Forest with another All American-like performance.
Grant, a National Player of the Year candidate, totaled 24 points, 10 assists and five steals for the Fighting Irish (23-4, 11-3 ACC), who remained in sole possession of second place in the ACC.
Steve Vasturia made four of Notre Dame's 11 3-pointers and finished with 12 points, Pat Connaughton chipped in with 13 points, V.J. Beachem netted 10 and Zach Auguste added 12 despite being in foul trouble.
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Devin Thomas carried Wake Forest (12-15, 4-10) with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
A fast-paced, high-scoring first half saw neither team lead by more than four.
Grant beat the buzzer with a tough drive to the basket, and it was a sign of things to come after the break.
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"We finished the half on a pretty good rhythm and we started the second half on a pretty good rhythm," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said.
Grant and Vasturia each hit 3-pointers during an 8-0 run over the first two minutes of the second half, giving the Irish a 51-41 lead, and a lengthy 19-4 stretch sealed Wake Forest's fate.
Over those five minutes, Grant scored four points and added four assists, including a gorgeous left-handed feed through traffic that hit Austin Torres in stride for a dunk. A Vasturia 3-pointer, off a Grant steal and assist, pushed the margin to 70-51, and the closest the Demon Deacons got from there was eight.
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"Mike [Brey] has them playing at a very high clip right now and we didn't make enough plays to win the game," Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning said.
Game Notes
This is Notre Dame's best 27-game start since the 1973-74 team opened the season 25-2 ... Wake Forest fell to 0-5 against ranked opponents ... Notre Dame made all but one of its 28 free throws ... Wake Forest turned it over 14 times.