By Aaron Beard
The Associated Press

Wake Forest's Justin Gray reacts after hitting a 3 point shot late in the second half to give Wake the lead. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest is in the unusual position of being the front-runner in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 10th-ranked Demon Deacons are handling the pressure just fine.

Josh Howard scored 28 points and Vytas Danelius added 21 as Wake Forest beat Virginia 75-71 on Sunday night.

Justin Gray had nine points and banked in a desperation 3-pointer for the lead with 1:35 left as the Demon Deacons (19-4, 9-3) won their 15th straight home game. Wake Forest remains a half-game ahead of Duke and Maryland in the ACC.

The Demon Deacons, a team with 10 freshmen or sophomores, rallied from a 35-30 halftime deficit and edged the Cavaliers (14-11, 5-8) in a game that featured 11 lead changes in the final 17 minutes.

"It's a nice feeling," said Howard, who went 9-for-14 from the field and 8-for-8 from the line. "I just tell these young guys to keep working hard, stay focused and doing the little things, and we'll go far."

Todd Billet scored 25 points to lead the Cavs, who lost their fourth straight and fell to 1-6 on the road in ACC play. Devin Smith added 18 as the Cavaliers shot 52 percent but committed 18 turnovers.

Virginia took a 68-64 lead on Elton Brown's inside bucket with 3:27 to play. Wake Forest answered, getting a jumper from Howard and a runner from Gray to tie it with 2:37 left.

Gray put the Demon Deacons ahead to stay about a minute later. With 3 seconds on the shot clock, Gray inbounded the ball to Eric Williams, who passed it back to Gray. Gray dribbled to his left and fired the 3 over Jason Clark. The ball banked in for a 71-68 lead.

"I knew I got it off in time," said Gray, who finished with nine points and made a similar big shot in a double-overtime win against Duke last week. "I didn't know it was going in. And I didn't call glass."

Virginia had a chance to tie it late. Billet pulled the Cavaliers within two on a free throw with 1:26 left, but mishandled the dribble with about 25 seconds left, leading to a jump ball that went to Wake Forest.

Howard and Danelius sealed the win by going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.

"While certainly it was not as well played as we would've liked, I thought our guys possessed the grit to somehow win the game," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said.

The Cavaliers beat Wake Forest 85-75 on Jan. 23 behind Billet's 23 points, but Gray's shot prevented a repeat.

"A shot like that with three seconds left on the shot clock goes in, you're just like, 'What else can we do?"' Billet said. "We defended them and put him against a wall. But he's a guy who hits those kind of shots."

Virginia coach Pete Gillen held leading scorer Travis Watson out of the starting lineup for missing a class and "another commitment," though Gillen wouldn't elaborate afterward. Watson, who came in averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds, was on the bench for the first 10 minutes of the game and finished with three points and four rebounds in 19 minutes.

"We have rules and standards at Virginia," Gillen said. "Other schools could care less. We try to do things a different way, and that was it."