Wake wins ACC tourney opener

Austin Arians gave Wake Forest a lift from 3-point range in the first half and finished with 17 points as the Demon Deacons advanced to the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in New York with a 92-78 victory against Boston College on Tuesday in New York.

No. 10 seed Wake Forest (19-12) will take a four-game winning streak and hopes of getting into the NCAA tournament into a matchup with No. 7 seed Virginia Tech on Wednesday at the Barclays Center.

Last-place Boston College (9-23) ended its season on a 15-game losing streak and with star Ky Bowman on crutches. The freshman guard, who came into the game averaging 14.5 points, landed awkwardly on his right leg contesting a shot in the first half and returned to the bench in the second half wearing a big knee brace.

In other ACC action, No. 12 seed Clemson (17-14) rolled to a 75-61 win against No. 13 seed N.C. State (1517). The Tigers next play No. 5 seed Duke.

Georgia backs coach:

Georgia’s athletic director showed his support for coach Mark Fox by taking the unusual step of issuing a statement rebutting a report that the school was evaluating possible candidates to succeed Fox.

Greg McGarity’s statement said “we are NOT in the process of exploring our options to replace Mark Fox. We look forward to Mark leading our program next year and all of our efforts are centered on postseason play.”

Waters retires:

Cleveland State coach Gary Waters retired after 11 seasons at the school.

The winningest coach in the program’s history, Waters is stepping down following a 9-22 season. Waters, who also coached at Kent State and Rutgers, led the Vikings to the 2009 NCAA tournament, in which they upset Wake Forest in the first round.

Duke recruit honored:

Wendell Carter, a senior power forward at Pace Academy in Atlanta, won the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year award. Carter signed a national letter of intent last year to play at Duke.