Talk » DEACONSWake Forest coach Danny

THE KEY MEN IN SUNDAYS FOUR NATIONS FINAL BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AT ANFIELD (0130 AEDT MONDAY)JOHNATHAN THURSTON V SHAUN JOHNSONTwo of the finest playmakers in the games who are blessed with match-winning abilities. Johnny Pesky Red Sox Jersey . Thurston will be playing his last match on UK soil and is desperate to finish his fourth Kangaroos tour on a high. Johnson was almost the match-winner against against Australia at Coventry after being held up over the line in the final minute. Both players can expect special attention from two huge forward packs.CAMERON SMITH V ISSAC LUKESmith will play his 33rd straight Test, two behind Clive Churchills record of 35 in the list of most successive Australia appearances when he runs out in the green and gold for the 49th time at Anfield. Now aged 33, the skipper shows no signs of a decline in performances and is still the best dummy-half in the world. Luke had a below-par first year with the Warriors after leaving South Sydney, but has been back to his best in this tournament.JASON TAUMALOLO V BOYD CORDNERTaumalolo - the reigning joint Dally M Medal winner - will need to be at his rampaging best for the Kiwis if they are to win and will be a huge test for Australia up the middle. But in Cordner the Kangaroos have a special talent of their own, who is strong in defence, sharp in attack and a ferocious tackler with an eye for the tryline. Has shaken off a bout of gastro to be fit to play this final. Andrew Cashner Jersey . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Tzu-Wei Lin Red Sox Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. https://www.cheapredsox.com/2411z-ian-ki...ey-red-sox.html . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games.CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It was turkey time at the Charleston Classic for Wake Forest ??? and not just because its November.Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning said assistant coach Randolph Childress challenged their players to get three defensive stops in a row. We called it a turkey, Manning said.Wake Forest picked up several turkeys Sunday night in a 78-61 victory over College of Charleston to finish third in the eight-team tournament.Manning said he wanted his players focused on defense and Childress found a catchy way to do that. We had three turkeys in the first half, Manning said. Not sure how many we had in the second half, but the guys kind of rallied around that. I think were going to try and use that all year long.Especially if it leads to more defensive efforts like Wake Forest (4-1) had in beating the Cougars (3-2).The Deacons held Charleston to 33.3 percent shooting overall and 27.8 percent on threes. They had five blocks and out-rebounded their opponents 36-30 in finishing 2-1 at TD Arena.Bryant Crawford scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and John Collins added 15 points for Wake Forest.The Demon Deacons took control against the home-standing Cougars with a 15-6 run over the final six minutes of the opening half. They kept the pressure up after the break as Crawford had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to build a 62-42 lead midway through the period.College of Charleston (3-2) sliced that margin in half with 10 straight points, but could get no closer to lose for a second straight game.The shots were just falling, Crawford said. Coach gets on me a lot about missing layups, but today I made them.Crawford ended 7 of 12 from the field and had two of Wakes eight 3-pointers.Joe Chealey led Charleston with 19 points.Wake Forest closed an up-and-down event on a high note. It opened by hitting the 100-point mark for the first time eight years with a 103-81 victory over UTEP, then fell 96-77 to No. 3 Villanova despite shooting 50 percent from the field. Mike Shawaryn Jersey. his time, the Deacons mostly clicked throughout against the pesky Cougars. They finished over 50 percent (28 of 54) from the field, the fourth time in five games with such a high percentage.BIG PICTUREWake Forest: The Demon Deacons have a large group of athletic young players like sophomores Bryant Crawford, Keyshawn Woods and John Collins and freshman Brandon Childress who all saw extensive action at the Charleston Classic -- minutes that will serve them well once Atlantic Coast Conference play starts in five weeks or so. The 6-foot-10 Collins has led the Demon Deacons in four of five games this season, including all three at TD Arena this week.College of Charleston: The Cougars have to find their scoring touch if they hope to make a run in the Colonial Athletic Association this winter. Charleston shot less than 29 percent in a loss to UCF on Friday night and was struggling to make shots once more against Wake Forest.LOTS OF DEACONSWake Forest coach Danny Manning used 11 players, in part because of early foul trouble for starters Dinos Mitoglou and John Collins. Still, the team got solid showings from players not typically in the rotation. I really like our balance, Manning said. For us to get a win with John only playing 14 minutes and Dinos only 17, I think that speaks volumes to the balance we have on our team.COLD CHARLESTONCollege of Charleston struggled with its shooting throughout the tournament, something the Cougars know must improve in a hurry. Its early, Charleston guard Joe Chealey said. Its only the first five games of the season. Weve got to trust the process.UP NEXTWake Forest returns home to play Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night.College of Charleston travels to No. 3 Villanova on Wednesday night.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '