Miss Cleo said it was going to be a good week for the Demon Deacon men's basketball team, and she was right. The Deacs opened up the 2002-2003 regular season with a 73-61 pasting of Yale and followed that up with a resounding 83-76 victory over Temple. And No. 23 Wisconsin? When the ACC/Big 10 Challenge Cup is on the line? Doubters please, you must have a mental disease. The Badgers got dropped 90-80 in an ESPN2 thrilla.'

Thanksgiving came a day early for Head Coach Skip Prosser and his Deacons Nov. 27, when the Yale Bulldogs came to Winston-Salem and played the part of the turkey. Things started slowly for Prosser's crew, as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Senior forward Josh Howard steadied his young teammates after a timeout though, and led the squad on a 24-7 run and a 41-29-halftime lead. Two deafening dunks by sophomore forward Vytas Danelius stood out in the team's torrent run, as he seemed to smash the ball down onto the entire Ivy League and bring the Joel Coliseum crowd to its feet.

Wake Forest was "en fuego" for the majority of the first half, nailing 52 percent of their shots and shooting 5-for-9 from trifecta land. Meanwhile, the Yale offensive shooting attack was stifled to 39 percent in the first half, thanks largely to the defensive pressure provided by sophomore guard Taron Downey and freshman guard Justin Gray on Yale's point men, sophomore Alex Gamboa and senior Chris Leanza.

"Our defense got us going (in the second half)," Prosser said. We got some easy baskets by attacking in transition."

Howard, a preseason All-American candidate, opened his senior campaign with a strong performance, posting a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Danelius and Downey, the team's only other returning starters with Howard, also had solid outings, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Danelius also brought down seven boards.

Gray and fellow frosh, center Eric Williams, started for Prosser as well, and contributed nicely, despite their youth. Yale simply had no answer for the gargantuan Williams, who at 6-foot-9-inches and 270 pounds, maintains quite a post presence for the Deacons. Williams scored 14 points and brought down five rebounds in only 21 minutes, while Gray scored 10 points and dished out five assists.

Wake Forest continued their run -- and Miss Cleo continued her foresights -- with an 83-76 home victory against the Temple Owls on Dec. 1, in a nationally televised game on Fox Sports. Head Coach John Chaney and his Owls never could get their defensive zone to work effectively against the pressuring Deacons, thanks largely to Howard.

"The zone was tight, but coach (Prosser) came up with a plan to break it down," Williams said. "We had Josh in the middle and we were able to pass the ball around."

While Howard posted his second consecutive double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Williams starred for the Deacons. He scored 19 points and hit the glass for 10 of his own boards.

"Eric is maturing and he's learning the game," Howard said. "He showed what he could do É I can't wait to see him grow as a player even more."

The Demon Deacs ambushed the Owls from the get-go, jumping out to a 42-28 lead in front of a rabid crowd of 8,075, full of students just returning from Thanksgiving break. Danelius also had a career game, scoring 14 points and bringing down 14 boards.

Downey and Gray played Robin Hood for the game and dished many a dime, but did not shoot well. Downey notched seven assists, while Gray handed out five of his own. However, combined the guard duo shot only 5-for-21 and were 2-for-12 with the long-range bombs.

Howard and his young guns faced a stiff test in their next competition, as they traveled to the Great White North to play Canada's cousin, No. 23 Wisconsin, on Dec. 4. The winner of the game would also hand their conference the ACC/Big 10 Challenge Cup, as the friendly round robin tourney was notched at 4-4 with this as the final game.

Howard and a collection of youngsters held off the Badger attack all game, allowing their lead to bend but never break. Howard -- who finished with a career-high 31 points and nine boards -- scored 15 in the first half as a smoking Deacon squad jumped on Wisconsin early, shutting out and shutting up the home crowd.

With Williams in early foul trouble, Danelius and Gray rose to the occassion, helping the Deacs race to a 50-40 halftime lead. Meanwhile, Howard contained Badger weapon Kirk Penney, who finished with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, quite a drop for the sharpshooter.

However, Penney and Alando Tucker warmed up in the second half, and rallied to tie the Deacs at 59-59 with just over nine minutes left. But that would be it. Howard would drill a three to regain the lead, but then drew his fourth foul of the game and had to go back to the bench. And then the cardiac kids took control.

With Gray and Downey slashing to the hole, and Danelius cleaning up the boards, the Deacs slowly pulled away from the Badgers in the waning minutes, earning a road win and making quite a statement. Gray finished with 20 points, and was perfect with three-pointers, at 4-for-4. Downey added 15 points, while Danelius brought down eight boards.