Timmer, Woodward lift Drake past Wake Forest, 77-74 (Nov 17, 2017)
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) Reed Timmer scored 29 points and hit six of Drake's 15 3-pointers as the Bulldogs rallied to beat Wake Forest 77-74 on Friday night in the Paradise Jam.
It was moved from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to the Vines Center in Lynchburg due to damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Graham Woodward added 20 points for Drake (2-0), which used an 11-0 run to erase a 10-point deficit late in the second half.
''Every time we got down, we kept preaching to the guys, `Stick with it. Keep doing what we're doing and keep it simple on both ends,''' Drake coach Niko Medved said. ''This team just fought so hard tonight and I just couldn't be happier for this group of kids who's been through so much here in the last several years.''
The Demon Deacons (0-3) had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but Bryant Crawford's 3-pointer was off the mark.
Wake Forest coach Danny Manning blamed his team's defensive effort in the loss.
''We didn't get any stops down the stretch of the game. Drake made some big shots, but we have to do a better job of being more disruptive and then finishing plays with rebounds,'' Manning said. ''They outrebounded us, and we've got to be the team that finishes plays by going to get rebounds. We didn't get enough of those.''
Drake finished with a 37-33 edge on the glass.
Timmer finished 6 of 8 on 3-pointers and Woodward was 5 of 9. The Bulldogs finished 15 for 30 from beyond the arc.
''When two guys hit you for 11 3-pointers, we've got to do a better job of getting out there and contesting those shots and we didn't do that well enough tonight,'' Manning said.
Wake Forest used a 10-0 run to open a 60-49 lead midway through the second half. After an exchange of baskets, the Bulldogs scored the next 11 points with Woodward capping the rally with a four-point play. The lead changed hands several times until Timmer hit a pair of free throws with 3:55 remaining.
Doral Moore led the Demon Deacons with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Chaundee Brown added 12 points.
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