By Jenna Fryer
The Associated Press

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Josh Howard thrives on filling an enormous role for Wake Forest. Howard, one of just two seniors on the team, had his second big game of the week, scoring 30 points to lead No. 19 Wake Forest to a 73-66 victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday night.

It followed his 23-point performance Wednesday night in a victory over No. 17 Maryland and helped the Demon Deacons (12-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to their 11th-straight home victory.

"He's like 'Father Josh,' " Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "He talked to the team about the fact that we spent a lot of emotional energy against Maryland and then he came out and played big - he knew he had to because of our numbers situation."

With guard Justin Gray sidelined for the second straight game with a broken jaw and center Eric Williams in foul trouble and limited to 15 minutes, Howard stepped up every time the Demon Deacons needed a big basket.

He was 3-of-4 from 3-point range, went 11-for-12 at the free- throw line, added three assists and blocked five shots - one with 44 seconds left that went into the stands. Howard finished one point shy of his career high of 31, set this season at Wisconsin.

"I just try to lead by example and talk the guys through it when things go wrong," Howard said. "If I can do that, I'm pretty happy at the end of the night."

Chris Bosch led Georgia Tech (8-6, 2-2) with 22 points and 10 rebounds and B.J. Elder added 18 points.

The Yellow Jackets lost their fifth straight in Lawrence Joel Coliseum, where they are 5-15 overall and haven't won since 1998.

"I'm not disappointed in my team, I thought they played very hard," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "We'll get better."

It wasn't a smooth win for Wake Forest, though.

The Demon Deacons, who started three sophomores and a freshman, made several little mistakes that caused Prosser to kick the scoring table twice and punch the side of it four times.

But Howard came up time and time again, especially on offense.

With Wake holding on to a six-point lead early in the second half, Howard had a powerful hanging dunk off of a miss and followed it with an aggressive drive to the basket that drew a foul. He made both free throws to give the Deacons a 54-44 lead.

After baskets by Ed Nelson and Bosch cut Wake Forest's lead to 58-54 and the Deacons were struggling to score, Howard followed a basket by Jamaal Levy with four straight free throws to push the lead back to 64-54 with 2:17 left.

"I know I wouldn't trade him for anyone in the ACC," Prosser said. "He possess an iron will and will not lose. I'm glad I get to coach him."

Wake Forest played excellent defense on Georgia Tech guard Marvin Lewis, the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer, who was coming off a career-high 33 points in a win over Florida State this week. But the Deacons held Lewis to seven points and limited his looks at the basket - he attempted just seven shots.

Wake Forest, which leads the ACC in rebounding, outrebounded Georgia Tech 48-38. The Demon Deacons have yet to be beaten on the glass this season.