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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- After nearly squandering a 25-point first-half lead, Wake Forest kicked into another gear midway through the second half before pulling away for an 86-74 win against Coastal Carolina.John Collins scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the Deacons (5-1)Brandon Childress came off the bench to score 15 points to go along with four assists, Mitchell Wilbekin added 14 points, and Bryant Crawford finished with 12.Wake Forest, which led 30-5 at one point in the first half, used a 21-0 run to take command.Coastal (2-4) clawed its way back in the second half to cut the deficit to 44-40, but the Deacons responded with a 7-0 scoring run and never led by fewer than 11 points the rest of the way. They made 17 of 19 free throws in the second half and 21 of 24 for the game.The Deacons gave up 51 points in the second half and got sloppy on offense when the Chanticleers made their surge.The ball started sticking in guys hands, Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said. Weve got to be a team that moves the basketball. We have plenty of guys that are capable weapons. But once the ball sticks, we become stagnant, and we become easier to guard.Elijah Wilson scored 20 points to lead Coastal, and Colton Ray-St Cyr added 12 points and 13 rebounds.The Chanticleers got off to a cold start, missing 14 of their first 16 shots and scoring on just two of their first 20 possessions.Weve been on a grueling road trip and we got off to a slow start, Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis said. Id like to attribute it to our legs somewhat. We got good looks, but at the same time, youve got to give some credit to Wake Forest. They can stretch the court, and I think that showed.THE BIG PICTURECoastal Carolina: Picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference, the Chanticleers showed plenty of fight against the bigger and more athletic Deacons in erasing a 25-point first-half deficit with a barrage of 3-pointers and a 12-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. That should take them a long way once conference play begins.Wake Forest: The Deacons picked up the win despite some sloppy play early in the second half against an inferior team. The Deacons played well in spurts -- especially in the first half -- and picked it up again in the second half when things got close. That might bode well for Wake Forest later in the season when it finds itself in another close game, especially during ACC play.STAT SHEETWake Forest, which leads the ACC in 3-pointers and averages 9.6 per game, knocked down 11 more against Coastal Carolina while shooting 42.3 percent from behind the arc. Childress and Wilbekin had three 3s apiece, with Wilbekin tying Josh Howard for 15th all-time with 109 3-pointers made. ... Coastal Carolina had a 15-0 advantage in second-chance points and tied Wake Forest with 41 rebounds.UP NEXTCoastal Carolina: After playing their last three games on the road in a span of five days, the Chanticleers return home on Tuesday to play Chattanooga in their first of five straight home games.Wake Forest: The Deacons will play at Northwestern on Monday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It will be the first meeting between the teams. Wake Forest is 11-4 all-time in the challenge, including a 5-2 record on the road.Custom Green Bay Packers Jerseys . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Aaron Rodgers Packers Jersey . 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Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary.Atlantic Coast Conference teams are getting it done with some of the top defenses in the country.Four league teams rank in the top 11 in FBS total defense this week with Boston College (292.9 yards allowed per game) leading the pack at No. 7 just ahead of Clemson (298.6) at No. 8. Louisville (301.3) and Virginia Tech (302.0) are close behind at 10th and 11th respectively.All but BC have winning records, are in the Top 25 and have chance to win their respective divisions.How stingy their defenses play will likely determine how far they go.Every week you come in and its like, `OK, its the No. 1 defense, its the No. 8 defense, its the No. 10, Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said of what he faces each week. But I dont think our guys would have it any other way. ... As a coach youre like, `Man, when are you going to get one not ranked in the top 10? but at the same time, thats what really motivates your guys to perform.Stout defenses are not new in the ACC. Six teams ranked in the top 20 this time last season and five in the top 15 just last week.Former NFL Pro Bowl linebacker and current ESPN analyst Jonathan Vilma believes the defensive success is the result of schools finding recruits who can play right away and develop through experience. He also believes the ACC plays a more wide-open style that dictates having versatile athletes.You look at how North Carolina and Clemson like to open it up, Vilma said, so the style of defense is about having athletes can cover men and play good man defense on the outside with slot corners or (linebackers). Theyre physical at the point, can run sideline to sideline and can cover and/or tight ends.Continuity also helps.A key move by first-year Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente was convincing defensive coordinator Bud Foster to stay on staff and help rebuild a unit that ranked 42nd at this point last year.Opponents have converted less than 25 percent on third down this season against the Hokies, tops in the ACC, and they are second in the league in pass defense efficiency and red zone conversions. Take away a 31-17 loss at Syracuse and theyve outscored four recent opponents 174-36, including a 34-3 win at North Carolina.Any time youre together that long with a group of guys that youve recruited and really built a defense around what you want to do, youll be pretty good, Pitt coach Pat Narduuzzi said of Fosters defense.ddddddddddddYards might be hard to come by Thursday night in Pittsburgh when the Hokies visit to face the Panthers, who rank fifth against the run (96.6 yards).No matter where teams are ranked, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson expects ACC foes to make it challenging to score points and gain yardage.Its getting harder and harder, Johnson said. Its like Ive said all along, this is the best the league has been defensively, I think, from top to bottom. There have been good teams in the past but overall top to bottom, this is the best its been defensively -- at least the teams weve played so far.The stinginess displayed by Clemson and Louisville has demonstrated there is much more to the Tigers and Cardinals than their respective dynamic quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson.Practicing against those dual-threat players every day has helped the teams defenses.I think our defensive players understand the attention on Jackson, said Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, whose team has held Duke and North Carolina State to 489 combined yards the past two weeks.I tell them every day that we score points because our defense gets turnovers and gets short fields and scores, (along with) our special teams. Its all about the team and when you score points, its the team that scores points.But numbers only tell part of the story.Timely defensive stops have decided several big ACC matchups this season, few bigger than Clemsons overtime interception against N.C. State two weeks ago that sealed a 24-17 win . The Tigers committed four turnovers and had one converted into a touchdown before getting the takeaway that kept them unbeaten.That game capped a challenging stretch in which Clemson faced Louisville, BC and N.C. State, which ranked 26th at the time. The Tigers return from a bye to face another hurdle Saturday night at No. 12 Florida State, which is 55th defensively nationally but doesnt give ground in Doak Campbell Stadium.These days, not many ACC teams are giving up much of anything.---AP Sports Writers Hank Kurz Jr. in Blacksburg, Virginia, Pete Iacobelli in Clemson, South Carolina, and Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.---The APs college football page: collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '