Duncan Picks Up Slack, Leaves St. Louis In Wake
Randolph Childress didn’t look like himself on the court and he didn’t sound like himself after the game. A bad cold can do that even to a player who wowed the world last weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Wake Forest will keep on playing in the NCAA Tournament, though, because Tim Duncan was definitely himself. He was the only big man on the court, and did everything to help the top-seeded Demon Deacons escape with a 64-59 second-round victory over ninth-seeded Saint Louis on Saturday.
The 6-foot-11 sophomore finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. More importantly, he kept the Billikens far from the basket, and they had trouble with their best weapon - the 3-pointer.
“When you have to rely on a jump shot every single time, you’re not going to win,” Saint Louis’ Scott Highmark said. “We couldn’t get within 10 feet of the basket because of Duncan. He was the difference the whole game. He was always standing there.”
His presence was never more obvious than with just more than 3 minutes remaining, when he pinned a shot by David Robinson to the backboard, took off downcourt and dunked at the other end for a 59-52 lead with 3:01 to play.
“No doubt that was the key play,” Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. “If they get that basket, the pressure is really on us.”
Wake Forest 64, St. Louis 59
SAINT LOUIS (23-8)
Highmark 9-17 0-0 22, Harris 3-5 2-4 8, Robinson 6-13 0-0 12, Claggett 4-18 0-0 12, Waldman 1-10 0-0 2, Turner 1-6 0-0 3, McCauley 0-0 0-0 0, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-69 2-4 59.
WAKE FOREST (26-5)
Banks 4-6 1-2 9, Peral 1-4 0-0 2, Duncan 9-12 7-11 25, Childress 5-11 8-9 21, Braswell 2-2 0-0 4, LaRue 1-6 0-0 3, Rutland 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 16-22 64.
Halftime-Saint Louis 33, Wake Forest 33. 3-Point goals-Saint Louis 9-39 (Highmark 4-10, Claggett 4-14, Turner 1-5, Robinson 0-2, Waldman 0-8), Wake Forest 4-16 (Childress 3-8, LaRue 1-5, Rutland 0-2, Peral 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Saint Louis 36 (Harris 15), Wake Forest 38 (Banks 13). Assists-Saint Louis 14 (Waldman 6), Wake Forest 13 (Childress, Banks 3). Total fouls-Saint Louis 19, Wake Forest 6. A-12,861.
Oklahoma St. 66, Alabama 52
Bryant Reeves scored 26 points, Randy Rutherford had 18 and the Cowboys’ suffocating defense limited the Crimson Tide to 36-percent shooting. Oklahoma State also got a boost from an injury to Alabama center Antonio McDyess, whose brief absence helped the Cowboys.
“You have to give most of the credit to Oklahoma State’s defense,” Alabama coach David Hobbs said.
The Cowboys trailed 33-32 when McDyess limped off the court with 14:44 left after hurting his left knee. By the time he returned with 11:35 to go, the Crimson Tide trailed 40-35. Alabama never got closer than three after that.
“I came down wrong,” McDyess said. “When I came back I was still hurting, but I just tried to play through it.”
ALABAMA (23-10)
Faulkner 4-13 0-0 8, Caffey 4-6 2-2 10, McDyess 9-19 4-4 22, Orange 1-6 0-0 3, Griffin 0-5 0-0 0, Washington 3-10 0-0 7, Passink 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-61 6-6 52.
OKLAHOMA STATE (25-9)
Pierce 1-3 0-0 2, Collins 1-3 0-0 2, Reeves 9-17 8-10 26, Rutherford 6-16 2-5 18, Owens 3-8 0-1 6, Roberts 5-7 0-0 10, Skaer 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-56 10-16 66.
Halftime-Oklahoma St. 28, Alabama 27. 3-Point goals-Alabama 2-20 (Orange 1-6, Washington 1-6, Griffin 0-3, Faulkner 0-5), Oklahoma St. 4-11 (Rutherford 4-10, Roberts 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Alabama 43 (McDyess 17), Oklahoma St. 30 (Reeves, Rutherford 7). Assists-Alabama 14 (Faulkner 5), Oklahoma St. 20 (Owens 10). Total fouls-Alabama 18, Oklahoma St. 12. A-NA.
xxxx East Regional Today’s games Stanford (20-8) vs. UMass (27-4) Old Dominion (21-11) vs. Tulsa (23-7)