Wake Forest falls to 0-2 with loss to Liberty

Demon Deacons 0-2 for the first time since 1979

Wake Forest coach Danny Manning looks on with guard Chaundee Brown and guard Keyshawn Woods in the second half against the Liberty Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. (Jeremy Brevard / USA TODAY Sports)

Lovell Cabbil scored 22 points and Liberty led for most of the game in a 79-66 victory against host Wake Forest on Tuesday night at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

Ryan Kemrite added 17 points and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz had 10 points for the Flames (2-0), who defeated an ACC opponent for the first time in nine years.

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Wake Forest dropped to 0-2 for the first time since the 1979-80 season.

Bryant Crawford’s 21 points paced Wake Forest, with 17 coming in the second half. Keyshawn Woods and Doral Moore each added 14 points for the Demon Deacons, who shot 2-for-17 on 3-pointers.

Liberty made 9 of 21 shots from long range.

The Flames grabbed a 12-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half before Wake Forest scored nine points in a row.

Liberty responded for a 53-43 edge on freshman Keegan McDowell’s 3-pointer. The score stood at 59-47 with less than 6 1/2 minutes to play.

Another McDowell 3 stretched the lead to 66-56.

Liberty, which hadn’t won a Division I nonconference road game since Dec. 31, 2012, at Western Carolina, held a 39-28 rebounding edge.

Scottie James, who scored nine points, pulled in 14 rebounds for the Flames.

The Demon Deacons went the final 3:25 of the first half without a field goal then went almost another minute in the second half before Moore’s short jump.

Wake Forest was 1-for-9 on first-half 3-point attempts.

Moore scored eight of Wake Forest‘s first 15 points.