March 24, 2000

Box Score

By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Robert O'Kelley broke out of a shooting slump with 18 points as Wake Forest advanced to the NIT semifinals by defeating defending champion California 76-59 Friday night.

O'Kelley was a combined 5-for-22 from the field in Wake Forest's previous two NIT wins, but made four 3-pointers as the Demon Deacons (20-14) reached 20 wins for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.

Wake Forest, in the semifinals for the first time since 1983, will play Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina State at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The last time two ACC teams faced off in the NIT semifinals was in 1971, when North Carolina beat Duke 73-69.

The Golden Bears (18-15) were attempting to become the first program since St. John's in 1943-44 to win consecutive NIT titles.

Sean Lampley led California with 19 points, but managed just three free throws in the second half.

California's zone was effective for the game's first few minutes against the Demon Deacons, but O'Kelley sank a pair of 3-pointers and Craig Dawson added another from beyond the arc in a 2 1/2-minute span to key a 15-0 run and Wake Forest never trailed.

O'Kelley hit a 3-pointer with 8:40 left to give Wake Forest a 62-50 lead and the Golden Bears never again got closer than eight.

Wake Forest played a near-perfect opening 10 minutes, turning the ball over just once, while stifling the Golden Bears' offense, holding them scoreless for a seven-minute stretch.

The Demon Deacons led 24-10 as California missed eight straight shots before Lampley started to heat up, scoring 10 of his 16 first-half points over the final 5:48 of the period as the Golden Bears closed to 39-31 at the break.

Dawson added 14 points for Wake Forest, which improved to 15-2 when scoring 70 or more points.

The game was moved to the Greensboro Coliseum because of a prior booking at Wake Forest's Joel Coliseum.

Cal head coach Ben Braun postgame quotes

"I told our players that when you're aggressive, you're usually rewarded. I thought the 10 offensive rebounds (Wake Forest had) in the first half put us in a hole. We weren't the aggressor tonight. Wake was, and that made a big difference. I thought we had some opportunities but didn't take advantage of them."

"Wake is a very good team. They showed today why they are having such a good season."

"We missed some open looks. If we had hit some, maybe gotten some 3s, it could have been a diffrent game."

"I feel for our two seniors, Raymond King and Robbie Jones, and Shahar Gordon. These are guys who made some sacrifices and were able to contribute, especially late in the season. They've meant a lot to this team. I can't say enough about them."