WINSTON-SALEM-It was only fitting that Wake Forest retired the jersey of Rodney Rodgers after the men's basketball game at Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon. After all, it was Rodgers' 35 points that were mainly responsible for the 98-86 Demon Deacon win on Feb. 13, 1993 in Cameron that began the infamous Wake Forest winning streak over Duke.
Wake Forest upped that streak to eight straight wins with a 79-65 victory on Sunday, but even though Rodgers attended the game, it was clear that the current Demon Deacon players did not need his help.
Wake Forest (16-3, 8-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) was paced by 20 points from center Tim Duncan and 17 from reserve guard Rusty LaRue, and although Duke (13-10, 4-7) came close at times, it ended up in the familiar role of the loser. While the Demon Deacons led by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Blue Devils were able to close within six points with just 1:16 left in the game. A comeback was not in the cards, however, as Wake Forest hit nine of its last 10 free throws, and 21-of-23 for the game, to seal a 14-point win.
"I was very proud of our team today," Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom said. "I thought we played very well. I thought our defense was exceptional in the first half. I thought we kept their dribble penetration down to a minimum."
The fact that Duke was able to pull within six was amazing, since it looked like Wake Forest was ready to put the Blue Devils away early in the second half. By the 10:43 mark in the second stanza, the Demon Deacons had increased their halftime lead from nine points to 16. Duke's inside game had been solid to that point, making Duncan earn each of his 13 points, but entering stage right was junior Sean Allen. During the run that put Wake up 16, Allen scored six straight points on his way to a season-high 15 points, in addition to six rebounds.
"I thought Allen did a good job for them too," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "That's the best that I've seen him play."
Duke's defensive effort in the paint was hurt by the absence of junior Carmen Wallace. Wallace injured his knee at the beginning of practice Friday and did not even suit up for Wake Forest.
"We're hurting a little bit with Carmen out," Krzyzewski said Sunday following the game. "Right now we're not sure [what his status is]. Based on the prognosis we have he may be out for the rest of the year. We'll know more by tonight or maybe tomorrow, but the early prognosis is not good."
Later in the half, Duke was able to find its own inside game as Greg Newton took over. In one six and a half minute period, Newton hit five shots-four from six feet or longer-on his way to a 9-of-14 shooting performance for 20 points and nine rebounds. Thanks to Newton and seven second-half points from sophomore Ricky Price, the Blue Devils were able to slowly chip into the lead.
"We were in a position where I thought we had a chance to win," Krzyzewski said. "Fool that I may be. But I did think we had a chance to win when we came back like that. But we do have to keep fighting, we're not feeling sorry for ourselves. A lot of good things are happening."
But every time the Blue Devils got close, someone would slam the door in their face. LaRue was the biggest Duke killer, scoring 17 points and, most importantly, hitting all six of his shots from the foul line. After Duke closed to 56-51 with 7:51 remaining, it was LaRue scoring four points as Wake Forest went on an eight-point run to put Duke into a 13-point deficit. A Jeff Capel three-pointer and a Price jumper brought the Blue Devils back with eight, but LaRue sank a wide-open three-pointer from the right baseline to once again thwart a Duke comeback and put the Demon Deacons up 67-56 with 3:06 to play.
"Rusty LaRue is a very smart player," senior guard Chris Collins said. "He knows where to go for the open shot, it helps when you got guys like Rutland and Duncan and Peral out there because he can play his game and pick his spots and make the open shots when it's there. He's got some big guts, he takes big shots and he makes them."
Based on the results of the first half, it didn't look like Duke would ever have a chance to win the game. Although the Blue Devils jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, they watched that lead evaporate immediately as they scored only two points over the next 9:24. The Demon Deacons were not as accommodating to their visitors as they blitzed off 19 points during that time to take a 12-point lead. Duke had several turnovers and added to its problems by earning a technical foul from Krzyzewski when he walked down the sideline berating a referee. LaRue made both free throws which sent Duke into a bigger tailspin.
"I have no problem with the technical," Krzyzewski said. "I didn't curse, though. Not on Sunday and near my birthday, especially with my daughter in the stands-she's a freshman at Wake. I would never do that."
Duke also committed its seventh foul just 6:23 into the game to put Wake Forest into the bonus, but WFU also gave Duke fits inside by blocking four of Duke's shots in that period. The Demon Deacons recorded eight blocks on the night.
Duke closed to within four points later in the half, but by shooting 29.4 percent from the field in the first half it was unable to come any closer to taking the lead.
"We had a tough time," Price said. "We had good looks at the basket, but they just didn't fall for us. That's about all I can say about that. There wasn't a draft or wind or something in the gym or anything."
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