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Two plays stood out at the fourth and final Twin City Shootout between Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State at the Joel Coliseum last night.

Neither figured prominently in Wake Forest's 76-52 inevitable victory against their overmatched crosstown rival. In fact, both plays happened early, when the game was still close (and eventually tied, 15-15).

Even so, both were remarkable and showed how unpredictable the Demon Deacons can be.

At 6-foot-nothing, Ish Smith, Wake's senior point guard, is a little guy by NCAA Division I standards. But his swift legs make him far-and-away the fastest guy in the ACC with the ball.

There's some spring in those legs, too. Running a fast break against WSSU, Smith kept the ball and went in for a thundering -- and shocking to some of us -- one-handed dunk.

Smith was calm, cool and collected while talking with reporters after the game ... until someone asked about the dunk. Then his voice got louder and his words came out in a rapid-fire stream.

"You know what?" Smith said. "I think the doctor must've put some extra springs in my foot along with those screws when I got hurt (last year). Seriously, it's just all off reaction. Everybody's going to play me for the pass this year, and I knew the guy (defending me) thought I was going to throw the alley-oop to Farouq (Aminu). So I just took off. It felt like I had angel wings or something. … Hopefully, I've got a few more of those in me."

A few trips later, another equally shocking play had press row buzzing. Wake's 6-foot-11 backup center, beefy senior David Weaver, spotted up at the top of the key and splashed a 3-pointer.

A little later, Weaver took another open shot from behind the arc, but it rimmed out.

"He makes them in practice," Wake coach Dino Gaudio said. "When he let it go, I wasn't shuddering or anything. He shoots a line drive. I mean, it's a frozen rope right at the basket, but I'm telling you, they go in."

Weaver didn't attempt a 3-point shot in 30 games last season. But Gaudio is right: A quick look at Weaver's career stats reveals the big guy could be a long-range secret weapon.

In 94 career games, Weaver is 4-for-6 (67 percent) from 3-point range. That's slightly better than his 61 percent free-throw shooting percentage (50-for-82).

Oh by the way: This was the last year of the four-year contract between Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State, and after this season the Rams are moving back to Division II after a costly failed experiment playing at the Division I level. That means the end for the Twin City Shootout.

-- JEFF MILLS, Staff Writer