Miller-McIntyre leads Deacons past Mountaineers

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Wake Forest didn't get a lot of scoring from its starting five Wednesday against Mount St. Mary's.

That didn't matter to Deacons coach Danny Manning, not with the way his bench was playing in an 83-49 victory over the Mountaineers.

Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 11 points and flirted with a triple-double, and Cornelius Hudson added 10 first-half points for the Deacons (4-2), who shot 53.6 percent from the field (30 of 56), made 8 of 14 3-pointers and outrebounded Mount St. Mary's 45-29.

''We got off to a very good start,'' Manning said. ''We got contributions across the board from our guys. That's how we have to play, and they're starting to understand that.

''One thing that I understand from my previous experience as a player, having quality depth is important. Injuries are going to happen, so you need to make sure guys get quality reps in your nonconference season so that they are ready to go when they're needed.''

More than half of Wake Forest's points - a season-high 42 - came from its reserves, the fourth time in the last five games the Deacons' bench has scored 25 or more points.

Wednesday, that scoring boost helped Wake Forest take a 44-20 halftime lead, and pull ahead by as many as 41 points late in the second half as the Deacons won their second straight game.

Playing mostly reserves over the final six minutes, Wake Forest took its biggest lead at 80-39 when Grant O'Brien - a walk-on player who saw action in just one game last season - hit a short jumper with 3:01 remaining.

''Everybody on the team can play,'' said Miller-McIntyre, who also had eight rebounds and seven assists. ''That's the great thing about it - (the starters) don't have to stay in the game 30-plus minutes every night, because everybody has the ability to come in and produce.''

Liam McManimon scored 10 points for the Mountaineers (1-3), who shot 35.3 percent from the field (18 of 51), including 6 of 28 on 3-pointers, and 43.8 percent from the free throw line (7 of 16).

''They easily outplayed us in every facet tonight,'' Mount St. Mary's coach Jamion Christian said. ''But they were ready to play. We're one of the youngest teams in the country, so we're going to take some licks while they're growing up.''

TIP-INS

Mount St. Mary's: The Mountaineers should be an experienced road team once their Northeast Conference schedule begins Jan. 3, playing eight of their first 11 games on the road. Mount St. Mary's won't play another home game until Dec. 13, when it hosts Norfolk State.

Wake Forest: The Deacons lead the ACC in double-doubles this season with five. Wake Forest also leads the conference in rebounding margin at plus-16.8 per game, paced by Devin Thomas' league-best 11.8 boards per game.

PIVOTAL MOMENT

Mount St. Mary's was able to stay close to Wake Forest early, trailing 7-6 after Byron Ashe's 3-pointer with 16:12 left. But the Deacons outscored the Mountaineers 37-8 over the next 15 1/4 minutes, capping the run when Miles Overtime hit a pair of free throws with 51.7 seconds left for a 44-14 lead.

STAT LINES

Wake Forest committed a season-low nine turnovers against Mount St. Mary's, while also making a season-best 18 assists - the first time in the Deacons' first six games that they've had a positive assists-to-turnovers ratio (2:1). ''That's something we've been working on, and need to continue to get better at,'' Manning said.

WHAT'S NEXT

Mount St. Mary's visits Seton Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Wake Forest hosts Delaware State on Friday.