Mark Berman here at Wake Forest, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team trailes the Demon Deacons 45-36 at halftime of its ACC opener.
Tech took a 34-33 lead on a Dorenzo Hudson basket with 3:15 to go in the half but was outscored 12-2 the rest of the half.
After the Hudson basket, Wake went on a 9-0 run. Harvey Hale and Jeff Teage made back-to-back 3-pointers.
After a Tech turnover, an intential foul was called against Malcolm Delaney for contact with Teague under the basket. Teague made one of two foul shots, and Wake got to keep the ball. David Weaver made a jam to extend the lead to 42-34 with 1:38 to go in the half.
After two free throws by Delaney, Tech coach Seth Greenberg was called for a technical foul by Ted Valentine for complaining about a foul called against the Hokies.
"It's about the kids," Greenberg said to Valentine before getting the T with 33.8 seconds left.
Hale made two free throws after the T for a 44-36 lead.
It's a shame Greenberg complained because the officials had been more than kind to Tech for most of the half. To his credit, he did not swear at Valentine.
Tech was 15-of-16 from the free-throw line in the first half. Wake was 8-of-13. Deron Washington has made all six of his free throws.
Tech, which fell behind 11-2 early, shot 52.6 percent from the field in the first half.
But the Hokies have hurt themselves with a whopping 14 turnovers, half of those by AD Vassallo.
Wake's Chas McFarland killed Tech inside early in the game and has eight points, topping his season average of 7.3 points. Fortunately for Tech, he picked up three fouls and played just seven minutes.
Delaney has played most of the half at point guard instead of Hank Thorns. Vassallo has nine points and Delaney eight. James Johnson has nine for Wake.
Check back a few hours after the game for a full postgame report, including quotes from the Hokies.
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