GAME NOTES: The Wake Forest Demon Deacons return to their home court when they take on the Iona Gaels on Friday night as part of The Roundball Showcase.

Iona opened the 2014-15 season with a five-point triumph against Cleveland State, but the Gaels were 86-73 losers at Wofford on Tuesday.

This contest, which takes place at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, brings an opportunity for the Demon Deacons to bounce back from a rough 83-53 loss at Arkansas on Wednesday night. Prior to that, Danny Manning's squad opened the season with an 11-point victory against UNC-Asheville, and then posted a 71-49 triumph at Tulane.

The only previous meeting between the Gaels and Demon Deacons took place during the 2012 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands when Iona captured a 94-68 victory. The Gaels raced out to a 22-3 lead about seven minutes into that contest, and never looked back.

Devin Thomas collected 19 points and 10 rebounds in the most recent game for Wake Forest, which shot only 32.2 percent from the field against Arkansas. It was Thomas' 12th career double-double, which is tied for first among all active ACC players. It's been an incredible start to the season for Thomas, who is averaging 19 points and 11.7 rebounds per outing, while shooting 65.6 percent from the floor.

Wake Forest's defense had trouble on Wednesday as six Arkansas players posted double figures in scoring. Also, the Demon Deacons allowed the Razorbacks to shoot 52.5 percent from the field. The Deacs committed 20 turnovers, six of them coming from Thomas. He was the lone double-digit scorer for Wake Forest, as Madison Jones and Darius Leonard were closest with six points apiece. Aside from Thomas (8-of-11) and Jones (3-of-6), the rest of the starters had a horrendous shooting night. The starting trio of Greg McClinton, Konstantinos Mitoglou and Codi Miller-McIntyre combined to go just 2-of-17.

Iona had a rough go of it during the second half on Tuesday morning in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Gaels got 23 points from David Laury and 22 from A.J. English, but the defense faltered after the game was even at 52-52 with just under 15 minutes remaining. That's when Wofford embarked on a 10-2 burst, and the Gaels went cold from the field. Iona made just one field goal over a near 10-minute span. Wofford had a big 18-1 scoring advantage in second-chance points.

Both teams may struggle shooting the ball in this game, especially if emotions carry over from previous losses for both squads. If the Gaels can't keep Thomas under wraps, then it will be difficult for Iona to pull out a road victory. On the other side though, the Demon Deacons must come up with a tactic to keep the trio of Laury, English and Schadrac Casimir in check.