University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Looks For Third Conference Win Against Wake Forest
January 11, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina looks for its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference win on Wednesday against Wake Forest at Joel Coliseum.
The Tar Heels (11-4, 2-0) have won their last six match ups against the Demon Deacons (10-4, 1-1).
North Carolina is the only ACC school to have a winning record in Joel Coliseum, having won there six times in 10 visits.
North Carolina's point guard Ed Cota scored a career-high 23 points Friday night, leading the Tar Heels to an 83-75 win over intrastate rival North Carolina State.
Cota, the school's career assist leader, made all eight of his shots from the floor and handed out six assists. His senior leadership on the court has been a vital in bringing along some of the Tar Heels younger players.
"Ed was super aggressive offensively," sophomore Jason Capel said. "He leads by example and not by being vocal. When we saw him being aggressive, we said we had better be aggressive, too, to live up to his expectations."
Freshman sensation Jason Forte added 18 points for the Tar Heels and leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points a game.
The Demon Deacons, who shot just 33 percent in the opening period, escaped with a 67-53 victory against the Clemson Tigers on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Darius Songaila was the only Wake Forest player to shoot over 50 percent from the floor, and led the team with 18 points.
The Demon Deacons also struggled from the foul line, hitting just 19 of 36 free throw attempts for the game.
Wake Forest, which shot 41 percent for the game against the Tigers, will have to hit more of its shots if the Demon Deacons expect to knock off the 13th-ranked Tar Heels.
Junior guard Robert O'Kelley leads the Demon Deacons in scoring, averaging just under 15 points a game.
The Demon Deacons are in the midst of a four-game ACC stretch that includes three contests on the road. Following Wednesday's game the Deacons will play at NC State and Maryland.
