WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Darius Songaila matched his career high with 27 points as Wake Forest warmed up for its trip to New York City with an 87-67 victory over Elon on Sunday afternoon.

The Demon Deacons improved to 3-0 for the sixth time in the last seven years and will play Fresno State in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Wake Forest beat North Carolina-Wilmington and Arkansas by a combined six points last week to advance in the 16-team field.

Elon, 3-28 on the road since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1999, fell to 1-1. The Phoenix also lost its 18th straight to Wake Forest, but the teams were meeting for the first time in 50 years.

Josh Howard added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Demon Deacons, while Craig Dawson had 15 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

Songaila also saw his Lithuanian countryman Vytas Danelius add 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting in his third college game.

Brendon Rowell led Elon with 20 points, but the team's leading scorer finished 5-of-20 from the field. The Phoenix trailed 57-44 with 14:30 left before Songaila hit a 3-pointer and a shot in the lane, and Dawson made a shot from beyond the arc to finally give Wake Forest some breathing room.

Songaila hit his first five shots as the Demon Deacons built a 32-16 lead 12 minutes in. While Songaila and Howard were a combined 13-for-16 in the opening half, Wake Forest turned it over 13 times and were 1-for-9 from 3-point range to keep Elon close at the break.

For the game, Elon bettered Wake Forest in turnovers (17-21) and blocked shots (6-5) while the Demon Deacons owned advantages in field goal percentage (.515-.364), free throw percentage (.733-.727), rebounding (45-35), assists (19-11) and steals (10-5).

In addition to Rowell, Gary Marsh (13 points, six rebounds), Steven Harvin (10 points) and Chris Adams (seven points, team-high eight rebounds) all turned in key performances for the Phoenix.

Game Box Score

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