Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100046
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Of course, there haven't been many No.9 seeds like Duke.
The Blue Devils, less than one year removed from an appearance in the NCAA championship game, began a postseason survival mission with an 83-70 victory over North Carolina State.
``I know it's a cliche, but the 0-0 thing is something we've talked a lot about,'' said Pete Gaudet, Duke's interim head coach. ``We are happy to have this opportunity.''
The Blue Devils, who need to win the tournament to receive an NCAA Tournament bid, take a 13-17 record into this afternoon's quarterfinal meeting with top-seeded and ninth-ranked Wake Forest (21-5).
``It wasn't difficult at all to forget the regular season,'' said Duke sophomore Jeff Capel. ``We feel we're capable of beating anybody in the conference; we've played everybody close.''
The Blue Devils had lost twice to State during the regular season, but they hit their first five shots - and seven of the first eight - and found themselves ahead 16-4 after less than four minutes.
Unaccustomed as they are to that position, the Blue Devils let the lead slide and went into halftime ahead 36-32. State took the lead twice in the second half, the last time at 46-45 with 13:28 remaining.
``It seemed like there were a hundred drives out there tonight,'' Gaudet said. ``N.C. State wanted to take the ball right at us and get us to foul. They had broken us in the game at Cameron that way.''
As it turned out, it was the Blue Devils who went to the line. They made 20 of 28 free throws in the second half and, at one point, had 20 second-half attempts to the Wolfpack's two.
``Our shooting woes continued tonight,'' said N.C. State coach Les Robinson. ``You're not going to beat many people shooting 25-of-72 [34.7 percent] from the floor.''
It was the third consecutive Thursday night loss at the ACC tournament for the Wolfpack, which got a game-high 26 points from Ishua Benjamin, including 13 of 15 during State's desperation bid to stay in the game.
Benjamin and center Todd Fuller were on the bench during key stretches, Fuller after picking up his fourth foul with 10:06 remaining. Duke outscored the Wolfpack 14-2 in his absence.
``We only kept Todd out for three minutes in the second half,'' said Robinson, whose team finished 12-15, its fourth consecutive losing record. ``We probably kept him out too long, although it didn't seem that long at the time.''
Senior center Cherokee Parks had 19 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils, who shot 47.4 percent for the game. Duke got a spark from Carmen Wallace, a seldom-used 6-6 sophomore who had seven points and five rebounds in 10 minutes.
Wallace had played in only 11 of Duke's first 29 games, including two of the past 11. The Blue Devils needed an extra frontcourt player after the suspension of Greg Newton and, given State's overall lack of size, Wallace got the call.
Gaudet was pleased Duke was able to use three reserves for 10 minutes or more, given the quick turnaround before meeting Wake Forest. The top seed has a 30-1 record against the bottom seed in quarterfinal play.
``We're in a situation now where we lose and the season's over,'' Capel said, ``so we all knew what the stakes were. But, that still wasn't the real Duke team out there tonight. We can play a lot better.''
see microfilm for box score
by CNB