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WINSTON-SALEM — Nobody who was there saw anything. And if they did, they're not saying much.

But this much is sure: Tony Woods, a 6-foot-11 sophomore and a key player off Wake Forest's bench, got an elbow high enough and hard enough on Boston College's 6-6 Corey Raji to earn a technical foul and an ejection after referees reviewed a replay on the courtside monitor.

In the end, it didn't matter, at least for one night. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 22 points, 7-footer Chas McFarland finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Wake beat Boston College 92-85 despite going the final 10:29 without a field goal Tuesday at the Joel Coliseum.

Wake (17-5, 7-3 ACC) led wire to wire against the short-handed Eagles (12-12, 3-7).

But the single most physical play on a physical night in a physical league had everyone on the Wake Forest bench wondering about what comes next.

The Demon Deacons play host to Georgia Tech (17-6, 5-4) on Saturday. It's a game that means plenty in the ACC standings, and the Yellow Jackets feature the league's best low-post tandem in big men Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors.

"They gave us a pretty good whipping down there," Wake coach Dino Gaudio said of his team's 79-58 loss to the Jackets two weeks ago in Atlanta. "&ellipses; They're a very physical team, and those two big guys were really a good combination."

Bottom line: Wake can't afford to have Woods on the bench in street clothes serving a suspension when Georgia Tech comes to town.

Gaudio believes Woods will be in uniform.

"I did not see it at all," Gaudio said. "Ray (Natili, the lead referee) came over to me and said, 'Hey, trust me, he hit him.' Right away I said, 'It you say he hit him, then he hit him.' We'll watch it on TV.

"I went to (referee) Mike Kitts as we came out for the second half and I said, 'Mike, what's the impact on the next game?' He said, 'No, he can play. It wasn't a (suspension).' I'll be honest with you: I'm not sure what the rule is. But (Kitts) said it wasn't a fight or a punch. So it's my understanding, according to Mike, he's fine for Saturday."

The drama came with 9:36 left in the first half and Wake leading 26-19. L.D. Williams, Wake's best defender, was whistled for a foul as he tried to stop Raji.

"There's going to be some back-and-forth, especially with BC," Williams said. "Those guys are really physical. They're really in your face.

"What happened was, I fouled Corey (Raji) and he said a couple things. It really was nothing. I was walking back to the huddle, and Tony (Woods) just reacted. I told him afterwards — and I pulled some of the guys aside, because Ari (Stewart) got into it a little bit, too — and I told all of them, 'When something like that happens, grab Wake guys. Because if you grab Wake guys, you're not going to get in trouble like that.' He learned from the situation. You live and you learn, you know? &ellipses; He understands that you can't do things like that. Him sitting out the game was punishment enough."

Apparently so. Some conferences — including the Southern Conference — mandate an automatic one-game suspension following an ejection. But the ACC leaves it up to interpretation. There must be a punch thrown or some other "intent to injure" to merit a suspension.

Instead, Woods was just too physical for a physical league and earned a dead-ball technical foul.

"It was a little scruffy there," said McFarland, who was waiting at the scorer's table to enter the game. "I didn't see what happened, but a few guys said (Woods) hit (Raji) when he turned around. I didn't see it. I asked (Woods) at halftime if he had to sit out the next game, and he said he didn't think so. But that's the league's call."

And now comes Saturday, when another physical frontcourt comes to Winston-Salem for another physical game.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

BOSTON COLLEGE (12-12) — Raji 7-14 3-4 17, Roche 10-15 5-8 31, Southern 0-0 1-2 1, Paris 2-4 0-0 4, Sanders 4-12 1-2 10, Jackson 6-15 3-4 17, Ravenel 0-0 1-2 1, Elmore 2-5 0-0 4, Dunn 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 31-67 14-23 85.

WAKE FOREST (17-5) — Aminu 8-12 5-6 22, McFarland 4-8 6-10 14, Smith 3-7 3-4 9, Harris 1-4 4-4 7, Williams 6-7 2-3 14, Clark 3-3 3-4 11, Stewart 3-9 0-0 8, Weaver 2-2 0-0 5, Woods 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-54 23-31 92.

Halftime—Wake Forest 50-39.
3-point goals—Boston College 9-22 (Roche 6-8, Jackson 2-7, Sanders 1-5, Paris 0-1, Elmore 0-1), Wake Forest 7-18 (Clark 2-2, Stewart 2-6, Weaver 1-1, Aminu 1-2, Harris 1-4, Williams 0-1, Smith 0-2).
Fouled out—Elmore, Ravenel, Sanders, Williams.
Rebounds—Boston College 33 (Raji 10), Wake Forest 34 (McFarland 11).
Assists—Boston College 14 (Jackson, Paris 3), Wake Forest 19 (Smith 11).
Total fouls—Boston College 28, Wake Forest 20.
Technicals—Woods, Wake Forest Bench.
A—10,832.