SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) _ Tyus Battle scored 34 points, Oshae Brissett added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Syracuse held off Wake Forest 78-70 on Sunday.

   Syracuse (17-8, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) was coming off a 78-73 victory at Louisville on Monday night and needed to protect home court to improve its resume for the postseason.

   Wake Forest (9-16, 2-11 ACC) was coming off an 87-81 road loss to No. 25 Miami on Wednesday as a late rally fell short. The Demon Deacons have won only twice since Dec. 18, but one of those victories came against Syracuse. Not on this day as the Demon Deacons fell to 0-7 on the road in conference play.

   During Wake Forest's seven-game skid in January, four of the losses were by double-digit margins. The Demon Deacons also suffered a nine-point setback at North Carolina State when the Wolfpack surged in the final minutes with an 11-0 run. They made it close in this one but couldn't pull out the victory.

   Frank Howard had 12 points and nine assists with one turnover and Paschal Chukwu had seven points and 11 rebounds for the Orange.