After slapping a few hands and greeting some relatives, Wake Forest's James Johnson (who's from Cheyenne, Wyo.) let loose a eardrum-bursting scream of triumph that echoed off the walls of the visiting locker room in the Marriott Center.

Who knew that an Atlantic Coast Conference team beating a Mountain West Conference team on the road would mean so much?

Wake Forest survived its trip to Provo, earning a 94-87 victory in front of the second-largest crowd -- 23,096 -- to ever see a game in the MC.

Try as they might -- and man, were they loud -- the white-clad Cougar fans couldn't will their team to victory.

The loss ended BYU's 53-game home win streak, the nation's longest. It had to end some time, so it might as well come against the best team to play the Cougars in Provo during the streak.

Johnson actually compared BYU to top-ranked juggernaut North Carolina (gee, the Cougars are blushing) in post-game comments and Wake Forest head coach Dino Gaudio was even more complimentary.

"That environment parallels anything we'd see on the road in the ACC," he said. "I told my team that wasn't a good win; it was a great win. BYU is very well-coached, the kids play hard and they are a handful in transition."

At the end, Gaudio said the Cougars could play in the ACC.

"Trust me on that," he said.

Gaudio could afford to be gracious -- heck, he won -- but the cold, hard fact is BYU tripped on another huge opportunity to earn a victory in a game that meant something on a national level. Last year, it was a close loss to No. 9 Michigan State in Salt Lake City and another tough one to Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The year before that, it was a loss in the first round to Xavier, a game the Cougars could have won. Before that ... should I go on? Every first round NCAA game since 1993?

The one exception was BYU's win over No. 6 Louisville last season in Las Vegas. The Cardinals ended up 27-9 overall and ranked sixth in the final USA Today poll, so it was a quality win. But it didn't lead to anything; the Cougars still came up empty in the NCAAs.

It seems this inconvenient truth can't be escaped: When the bright lights are on, BYU just hasn't been able to stand the glare.

"Almost" is the cruelest word in sports.

A win over Wake Forest would have been huge for the Cougars' NCAA tournament hopes and comes during a week where Utah beat nationally ranked Gonzaga and UNLV went to Freedom Hall and beat No. 18 Louisville.

How good is Wake Forest? Hard to say just yet. The Demon Deacons are undefeated (13-0) but play North Carolina in a week, so we'll know more then. But I do know that sophomore guard Jeff Teague (30 points) and Johnson (22 points, 15 rebounds) can play a little, and 6-foot-9 freshman Al-Farouq Amuni has "lottery pick" written all over him if he continues to develop.

BYU may not have many more opportunities to play ranked ACC teams in the Mariott Center. Gaudio quoted Apollo Creed from "Rocky" when asked if he wanted to come back to Provo and play another game: " 'There ain't gonna be no rematch.' I ain't coming back to the Marriott Center."

BYU has to, on Tuesday against Division II Western Oregon, to start a new home streak.

But it might take the Cougars a little while to get over another missed opportunity.

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com