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GREENSBORO — The UNCG Spartans gave themselves opportunities against Wake Forest on Monday night, but it's hard to say they had many viable chances.

The Demon Deacons set a school record with 16 blocked shots -- five off the NCAA record — while allowing 21 field goals in a 75-60 win before 4,716 at the coliseum.

"And it's pretty good when the point guard has four," Wake coach Dino Gaudio said, referring to 5-foot-10 Ishmael Smith's quartet of rejections.

As rare as that feat was, Smith wasn't the night's statistical kingpin. That would be Al-Farouq Aminu, the sophomore forward with arms as long as Tennessee. Aminu had an especially enjoyable evening at the expense of the shorter Spartans with 23 points, 17 rebounds and six rejections, but UNCG remained competitive until the final minutes. The Spartans reached, lunged and extended themselves to 19 offensive rebounds and were down 61-54 with less than seven minutes left.

"Hopefully, we keep building on how long we can battle," coach Mike Dement said after UNCG fell to 2-9. "The people we're playing are bigger, stronger and quicker. It's like a boxing match. We're going to get tired from getting hit — legally — and that affects our shooting a bit."

The Deacons (9-2) had 11 dunks, four of which came on consecutive first-half possessions. Seven of Aminu's eight field goals were layups or jams. But as slamfests go, this one was competitive.

The Spartans didn't get their 23 second-chance points with conventional block-outs or stick-backs. Some resulted from the rejections, which are harder for the defense to grab than conventional, rim-smacking attempts.

In other cases, the Spartans kept possession by poking the ball away from the big guys in black and winning the 50-50 situations.

"Second-chance situations are big parts of every game," said 5-11 Spartan Kyle Randall, credited with seven boards. "To reset our offense and to have another shot at things helped us tremendously."

Ben Stywall contributed 13 points and 14 boards for UNCG, and he did so cautiously.

"I tried to pick my angles," he said. "Obviously, I wasn't going to outjump them."

And this was a night when 7-footer Chas McFarland was benched at the start and played only 17 minutes. Gaudio said he was trying to send the senior a message, and there were plenty of capable players with whom to do it. In addition to Aminu, 6-11 Tony Woods and David Weaver were among the shot-blockers.

Wake surpassed its mark of 14 blocks set against Rhode Island on Feb. 13, 1978, and Appalachian State on Dec. 18, 1975. The ACC record is 18.

The Spartans got off 69 shots, but 16 of them didn't get to the rim. Many never left the hands of the intended shooter at all.

"We may have over-penetrated at times," Dement said. "Hopefully, in our league, that penetration is going to be a positive. But when their point guard's blocking four shots, that's a problem."

Aminu, playing but not preening for three NBA scouts seated courtside, didn't have to display an all-around offensive game, but he did get up and down the floor. He had a double-double by halftime to keep the Spartans, who traded the lead with Wake for the game's first 15 minutes, at bay.

"He carried us in that first half," Smith said. "Everybody was dead in the water. Sleepwalking. But he played well."

The road doesn't get easier for UNCG, which welcomes N.C. State at 6 p.m. Thursday and Maryland on Sunday.

NOTES: Mikko Koivisto came down with the flu on Sunday night and didn't attend the game. ... One media time out featured an engagement unrelated to basketball when Amanda Galyean accepted a marriage proposal from Hunter Thomas. Both are biology majors at UNCG.

WAKE FOREST (9-2) — Aminu 8-16 6-10 23, Weaver 1-2 0-0 2, Smith 2-7 1-4 5, Harris 2-4 6-6 10, Williams 5-7 0-0 11, Clark 2-6 1-1 6, McFarland 0-2 4-6 4, Stewart 4-11 0-0 11, Woods 1-1 1-3 3. Totals 25-56 19-30 75.

UNCG (2-9) — Bone 1-5 0-0 2, Stywall 6-12 1-2 13, VanDussen 3-12 2-2 10, Randall 1-10 0-0 2, Evans 3-9 4-5 10, Smith 1-1 2-2 4, Toney 3-10 2-2 10, Brown 1-3 0-2 2, Cole 2-7 2-2 7. Totals 21-69 13-17 60.

Halftime—Wake Forest 31-24.
3-point goals—Wake Forest 6-16 (Stewart 3-6, Williams 1-1, Clark 1-3, Aminu 1-3, Smith 0-1, Harris 0-2), UNCG 5-18 (VanDussen 2-4, Toney 2-8, Cole 1-2, Bone 0-1, Randall 0-1, Evans 0-2).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—Wake Forest 42 (Aminu 17), UNCG 44 (Stywall 14).
Assists—Wake Forest 14 (Smith 6), UNCG 9 (VanDussen 3).
Total fouls—Wake Forest 15, UNCG 20.
A—4,716.