THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603180128
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MILWAUKEE LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Tim Duncan probably would not put it this way, but Wake Forest gutted out a victory Sunday in the Midwest Regional.
The second-seeded Demon Deacons advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years, but had to come from 13 points down against No. 10 Texas to do it. The Deacons outscored the Longhorns 6-0 in the final 4:13 as Wake pulled out a 65-62 decision at the Bradley Center.
The Deacons (25-5) meet Louisville in a regional semifinal Thursday in Minneapolis.
Duncan, who battled the stomach flu all week, missed the front end of a one-and-one foul shot with 18.4 seconds left and Wake clinging to a one-point lead. Texas' Dennis Jordan and Wake's Ricky Peral battled for the rebound, which ended up in Deacon guard Steven Goolsby's hands. Goolsby was fouled, and made a pair of free throws with 16.3 seconds left.
``He bailed me out,'' said the All-American Duncan, who could barely talk in the locker room without coughing.
Texas' Reggie Freeman took an off-balance 3-pointer against a double-team in the closing seconds that missed the mark. Wake could not have chosen a better Longhorn to take the final shot.
Freeman, Texas' leading scorer averaging 22.7 points, had 13 points at halftime but was scoreless in the second half. He missed 11 shots, many on slashing moves to the basket, and finished 5 of 19 from the field.
``(Goolsby) was the hero for us,'' Wake coach Dave Odom said. ``What overshadowed his free throw was his defense on Reggie Freeman in the second half. He got up on him and made him shoot off-balance shots.''
Texas began the game with a sprint, but Wake quickly turned it into a grueling marathon. Texas made 11 of its first 17 field goal tries - including three 3-pointers - and jumped to a 30-20 lead 10 1/2 minutes into the game.
``Early in the game they were making most of their shots and setting up their press and getting the game into their style,'' said Wake Forest guard Rusty LaRue (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists).
The Deacons quickly wrested control of the style, however. Wake is ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense, ninth in field goal percentage defense and played like it the rest of the game. Texas scored just 32 points in the final 29 1/2 minutes while making 11 of 42 shots.
``I think the problem in the first half clearly was we were not used to their quickness,'' Odom said. ``It took us a full half and longer to adjust to the Texas players' quickness off the dribble.
``... They beat you inside on layups, follow shots and break-aways off their defense. If you go back and study the second half, that's what we shut down.''
From the Longhorns' point of view, they didn't get shut down, but just could not get shots to go down.
``It wasn't about what they did defensively, it was what we did offensively,'' Freeman said.
``If they made adjustments, I didn't see them,'' Texas coach Tom Penders said. ``They allowed us to do the things off dribble penetration which we love to do.''
The Longhorns (21-10) missed four layups in the final three minutes, including one by Sonny Alvarado inside of a minute that was halfway down the cylinder before coming out. It would have given Texas a 64-63 lead.
``I fired my layup coach,'' Penders said. ``He's got his resume ready. You can't explain it.''
Wake got by despite Duncan's illness and limited play by sophomore point guard Tony Rutland, who was nursing a sprained knee. He scored just three points in 21 minutes.
Rutland, a graduate of Hampton's Bethel High School, limped off the court with 11:46 remaining after coming out at halftime with a softer brace than the cumbersome one he wore in the first half. He returned a few minutes later for just 27 seconds, and then sat on the bench the rest of the game.
``It stung me a little bit,'' Rutland said. ``I was more scared than anything.''
The Deacons are hopeful Rutland will be back close to full strength by Thursday. They hope the same for Duncan, who had what for him was a very pedestrian 13 points, 11 rebounds and four turnovers in 38 minutes.
``I think the whole team had to step out and play a little harder because Tim's an important part of the team and was not playing well,'' said Peral, who had 16 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
``They were very physical with (Duncan),'' Odom said. ``He showed a lot of guts and determination to stay out there. Obviously he was a tired puppy dog out there today.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wake Forest's Ricky Peral, left, celebrates after making a 3-pointer
in the Deacons' 65-62 victory over Texas. Teammate Tim Duncan,
right, dunks for two of his 13 points, still battling stomach flu.
by CNB