Wake Forest 89, Colgate 78: Devin Thomas scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds as the host Demon Deacons staved off a challenge from the Raiders to win their season opener.

Codi Miller-McIntyre added 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Wake Forest, which won its third straight season opener under coach Jeff Bzdelik. Thomas played a team-high 34 minutes, connecting on 11-of-15 from the field for the Demon Deacons (1-0), who trailed 40-38 at halftime.

Pat Moore led the Colgate offense, scoring 17 points while fellow guard Austin Tillotson – a transfer from Monmouth – added 14 points and a game-high nine assists in his first game for the Raiders (0-1). Murphy Burnatowski, Colgate's leading scorer from a year ago, added 13 points but shot just 3-of-12.

The Raiders were hot from long range in the early going, knocking down nine three-pointers in a back-and-forth first half. Tillotson had 11 points at the break while Pat Moore sank his first three attempts from beyond the arc.

Colgate continued its hot hand early into the second half, establishing its biggest lead of the game at 51-43 at the 16:46 mark. Wake Forest took control of the game for good when Miller-McIntyre scored 12 points as part of a 19-4 run and, after the Raiders pulled to within 62-59 with just under 10 minutes to play, the Demon Deacons cruised down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Wake Forest improved to 3-0 all-time against Colgate, winning the first meeting between the two schools since 1957. ... The Raiders lost the turnover battle 14-5. ... The Demon Deacons finished second in the ACC last season with 7.1 steals per game and picked up where they left off with seven against Colgate.