Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 1, 1990 TAG: 9004010155
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL BRILL EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: DENVER LENGTH: Long
Brickey and his Blue Devils teammates had turned Arkansas' "40 minutes of hell" into 10 minutes of futility.
Duke took the best the Razorbacks had to offer for 30 minutes Saturday, then, shrugging off serious foul trouble, blitzed Arkansas down the stretch to win 97-83.
That sent the Blue Devils into the NCAA Tournament final Monday night.
Down 69-62 - having blown an 11-point lead - Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski took a timeout with 10:38 left.
"I thought we were in a lot of trouble," Krzyzewski said. "I put Christian [Laettner] back in the game, and once again he did a great job playing with four fouls, just like he did against UCLA [in the East Regional]."
After getting the word from the coach, the ACC's Blue Devils scored seven points in 90 seconds to forge a tie, battled the Southwest Conference champions on even terms for the next four minutes, then put on a sizzling drive that buried the Razorbacks.
After Lee Mayberry scored for Arkansas with 4:44 left to cut Duke's lead to 82-81, the Razorbacks fell apart.
The Blue Devils outran them 15-2 at the finish, and, living up to their nickname, showed Arkansas what hell really was like.
Seniors Phil Henderson and Alaa Abdelnaby were the stars for Duke (29-8) as the Blue Devils reached the title game for the second time in four years.
They had help from everybody in a game in which the mile-high altitude at McNichols Arena clearly was a major factor.
Although both coaches shuttled in bodies like it was 5 p.m. in a New York subway, players on both sides were bending often, desperately seeking air. On several occasions, Laettner couldn't even get down the court on offense.
It was Henderson, whose postgame speech after an ACC Tournament loss seemingly has spurred his team, who made the biggest goal of the contest.
With Duke ahead 84-81 after an Abdelnaby dunk, the Blue Devils came downcourt in slow motion, but the Razorbacks were even slower.
Henderson stood outside the 3-point line, had time to square up, sign an autograph or two, then shoot.
"The thing I'll remember most about this game is that one play," Krzyzewski said. "I can't believe how long Phil took for that shot. And it was a great shot."
Laettner, again trailing the play, helped the officials. He raised his arms in the air as the ball swished.
"I was tired and I was laying back," he said. "When Phil shot, I just signaled three [points] and really got excited when it went in."
Seconds later, Henderson drove for a layup.
"Henderson really hurt us," said Nolan Richardson, the Arkansas coach. "I think having been here [the Final Four] three times, he just stepped his game up a notch."
Henderson finished with 28 points, and he got help from fellow seniors Abdelnaby and Brickey, whose performance was a positive factor as he recovered from a hamstring injury.
Nobody knew what Brickey could do - including Brickey. He was active with an early dunk and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, four of them offensive, as Duke controlled the rebounding 46-37.
"I thought it was the best game of his career," Krzyzewski said. "That was why Brickey's performance was so good. He was so tired."
After the Henderson-Abdelnaby surge, Duke wrapped up the game at the free-throw line.
"I thought we showed our youth at the finish," said Richardson, who conceded his team got tired.
"We were winded. Both teams were blowing. We usually don't get tired," he said.
Near the end, the Georgia Tech fans joined the Duke backers in chanting "ACC."
"I heard them when I was shooting free throws," Laettner said. "I thought it was neat."
Duke shot 54.1 percent, making 11 of its final 18 shots in the 33-14 breakaway. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks missed 18 of their 23 attempts in that span, many of them wild 3-pointers as they panicked when they still had a glimmer of hope.
There was one other thing. Early in the first half, tough little point guard Bobby Hurley left the court and ran to the locker room. He returned several minutes later.
"Bobby had some physical problems," the Duke coach said. "He had diarrhea. Is there another word for that?"
ARKANSAS MPFGFTRAFPT Day 308-177-771427Howell 305-97-860318Credit 192-31-43055Mayberry 336-180-026112Bowers 201-60-02202Hawkins 152-42-22016Huery 162-51-33315Miller 201-31-26153Murray 112-50-01135Marks 30-00-01020Whitby 20-20-00000Linn 10-10-00000Totals 20029-7319-2640142583\ DUKE MPFGFTRAFPT Brickey 248-101-3113317Laettner 325-79-12141419Abdelnaby 278-124-550320Henderson 3710-215-583228Hurley 360-23-61603Davis 231-43-44235Hill 40-00-01010McCaffrey 50-13-40113Koubek 101-40-00022Buckley 10-00-00000Cook 10-00-00000Totals 20033-6128-3950161997 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Arkansas 43-40-83 Duke 46-51-97
Three-point goals - Arkansas: Day 4-8, Howell 1-2, Murray 1-3, Bowers 0-1, Huery 0-1, Whitby 0-2, Mayberry 0-4, Totals 6-21. Duke: Henderson 3-7, Hurley 0-1, Koubek 0-1, Totals 3-9.
Attendance - 16,467.
by CNB