Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503140079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Long
Wake Forest's Randolph Childress celebrates his school's first ACC\ tournament championship in 32 years. Childress, who scored 37 points Sunday in an 82-80 overtime victory over North Carolina, was named the tournament's most valuable player.
On an afternoon when Wake Forest won its first ACC men's basketball tournament championship in 32 years, milestones were not the story Sunday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
More relevant was the saga of fifth-year senior Randolph Childress, whose overall brilliance was rivalled only by his continued flair for the dramatic.
Childress, whose game-winning shots have been his signature, hit a pull-up jumper with four seconds remaining to lift the Deacons over North Carolina 82-80 in overtime.
Childress, who received the Everett Case Award as the tournament's most valuable player, scored all nine of Wake's points in overtime and finished with 37 points - giving him a record 107 for the tournament.
``For anybody else to score nine points, including the winning shot, almost would have taken away from the victory,'' said Wake coach Dave Odom. ``There's never been a more deserving ACC player or a more fitting way to end a career.''
The Deacons last won an ACC tournament title in 1962 and had not appeared in a championship game since 1978. They were picked fifth in the ACC before the season, but finished in a four-way tie for first in the regular season.
``I don't have words to describe winning the championship when nobody thought we could do it,'' said Childress, who was wearing one of the nets as he addressed the media.
Childress scored the last 14 points and 17 of the last 19 in the game for the Deacons, so there was little question who was getting the ball after Donald Williams hit a 3-pointer to make it 80-80 with 21.7 seconds left.
``We had a situation like it just before halftime,'' Childress said, ``and I told the guys coming out of the huddle, `We are going to take the last shot, even if it's a heave from midcourt.'
``I thought, once the clock got down to 10 seconds, that it was the best time to initiate my move. When I shot the runner and it went in, it was a great feeling. At the same time, I knew the game wasn't over.''
A baseball pass got the Tar Heels to midcourt, where they called time out with 3.0 seconds remaining. They subsequently got two shots - a 3-point try by Jerry Stackhouse and a tip by Pearce Landry.
Wake Forest, with five fouls at that point, could have committed one without sending North Carolina to the free-throw line. A similar situation had existed at the end of regulation, when Stackhouse hit a tying 3-pointer for Carolina with 4.5 seconds left.
``We wanted to foul before they got a shot off at the end of regulation,'' Odom said. ``I was surprised we did not do that. We talked about it, but we couldn't get it done.''
Stackhouse finished with 24 points and Donald Williams added 20 for the Tar Heels, who suffered a major blow with 7:41 remaining when sophomore center Rasheed Wallace left the game with an ankle injury.
``I was saying to myself, `Why me?''' said Wallace, who had nine points and seven rebounds. ``All I could say, all I could think was, `Why now, in the championship game?'''
The Deacons, who trailed 61-55 at the time of Wallace's injury, pulled ahead 71-65 on a Childress 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining. Wallace, admittedly in pain, asked to re-enter the game but was rejected by trainer Marc Davis.
``Those things are just part of the game,'' said North Carolina coach Dean Smith. ``No one puts an [asterisk] by a loss in the ACC tournament and says they didn't have so-and-so because of an injury.''
The Deacons trailed at halftime for the second game in a row - in their other game, they overcame an 18-point deficit - and entered the second half with three fouls on 6-foot-11 center Tim Duncan.
``I should've gotten Duncan out before he picked up that third foul'' with five seconds to go in the half, Odom said. ``I have a lot of confidence in him and he told me he wouldn't foul, but I should have gone with my gut instinct.''
Duncan played 22 of the remaining 25 minutes without committing another personal and finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds. He joined Childress on the all-tournament team that included Stackhouse, Wallace and Virginia's Junior Burrough.
Seventh-ranked Wake Forest (24-5) was rewarded with a No.1 seed in the East Region and will meet North Carolina A&T in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Fourth-ranked North Carolina (24-5) dropped to a No.2 seed in the Southeast and will open against Murray State.
``We have the ability to play well next Thursday ... mainly because we have Randolph Childress,'' Odom said. ``Can we win [the NCAA Tournament]? Yeah, we can. Will it be easy? No, it won't.
``As long as we've got No.22 [Childress] we can win it. As long as we've got No.21 [Duncan] we can win it. As long as we've got a group of guys who understand this, we can win it all.''
by CNB