NEW YORK - Taron Downey, playing eight days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, scored a career-high 20 points to lead No. 20 Wake Forest to an 85-76 victory over Memphis in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

The junior guard was considered questionable for the first game of the college basketball season. He didn't start for the Demon Deacons as he did in all 31 games last season, but he was the key factor in the second half as they built a 14-point lead with 4 1/2 minutes to go at Madison Square Garden.

Downey hit three 3-pointers in a 3:15 span of the second half, the last two part of a 13-3 run that gave Wake Forest a 73-59 lead with 4:30 to play.

Downey was 7-for-11 and had five assists in 29 minutes.

Billy Richmond had 14 points, and Antonio Burks added 13 points and nine assists for the Tigers.

No. 23 Marquette 52, St. John's 45

NEW YORK - Travis Diener scored 18 points and No. 23 Marquette, despite not having a field goal over the final 4:20, beat St. John's.

Marquette shot 29.6 percent (16-for-54), while the Red Storm were 16-for-51 (31.4 percent). The Golden Eagles had 20 turnovers.

Besides Diener, no one else scored more than 11 points. Diener was 3-for-11 from the field, including missing 0-for-5 on 2-point attempts. He was 9-for-10 from the free throw line, however, and that's where Marquette prevailed, going 14-for-16 compared to 11-for-22 for St. John's.