THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603160513
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MILWAUKEE LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
First-round games for high seeds are supposed to be a breather, but there was no such thing for Wake Forest Friday.
The Demon Deacons, the Midwest Regional's No. 2 seed, did not have significant trouble warding off 15th-seeded Northeast Louisiana 62-50 at the Bradley Center. Wake players just had to go long stretches without getting a breather on the bench.
The Deacons go just seven deep, and Friday their two best players were only available for limited duty. All-American junior center Tim Duncan was feeling the effects of a bout with the flu and sophomore point guard Tony Rutland sprained his right knee in Sunday's ACC tournament.
Rutland, missing a start for only the second time this season, played 11 minutes and missed all three of his field-goal tries. He sat out the final 15 minutes.
``It felt pretty well,'' Rutland said. ``I have to get adjusted to the knee brace.''
Wake coach Dave Odom said he wanted Rutland to test his knee.
``The biggest thing he needs to understand is he's OK,'' Odom said. ``Doctors telling him and coaches telling him is something else, he needs to know it for himself.''
Duncan was OK, but barely. The conference Player of the Year, who sat out just 19 minutes during 16 ACC regular-season games, was on the bench for 16 minutes Friday and clearly was not himself when on the court.
He missed two practices this week, and Duncan said he thought Thursday he would be unable to play.
Midway through the second half, Duncan missed a pair of shots from point-blank range, then committed a cheap foul on the defensive end and bent over to try to catch his breath. Odom took Duncan out with 10:02 remaining and left him on the bench.
``I got tired very easily,'' said Duncan, who still managed 10 points and 11 rebounds. ``(The sickness) is just kind of lingering. I've had it for a few days now, hopefully its on its way out.''
Even without its two best players, the Deacons (24-5) had only marginal difficulty with the Southland Conference champion Indians (16-14). Wake used a 15-2 run to establish a double-digit lead midway through the first half, and maintained a cushion of between 12 to 17 points until the game's final seven minutes.
Northeast Louisiana made one brief threat, scoring three consecutive baskets to cut Wake's lead to 46-36 with 6:38 remaining. Suddenly the crowd was vociferously behind the underdog.
Wake counterpunched to get the lead back to 13, but moments later the Indians rattled off a 7-1 spurt. Paul Marshall's 12-foot jumper with 2:05 left made it 53-46, and Odom debated bringing back Duncan and Rutland.
``I certainly preferred that neither (Duncan) nor Tony come back, but I wasn't going to sit there and lose the game with them on the bench,'' he said.
Rusty LaRue (game-high 18 points) assuaged Odom's fears by dropping in one of his four 3-pointers with 1:32 remaining. Northeast Louisiana never threatened again.
Wake advances to a Sunday second-round game against Texas, an 80-76 winner over Michigan. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
This was a rarity Friday - Tim Duncan slamming home a basket. The
Wake Forest center, slowed by the flu, scored just 10 points.
by CNB