WINSTON-SALEM - Duke had ended ACC games this season with all five starters on the bench before Sunday night. The difference against Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum was that the No. 2 Blue Devils didn't have a choice.
All five Duke starters fouled out as the Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 in the ACC) saw their 12-game winning streak come to an unexpected halt at the hands of the Demon Deacons, 86-73.
Duke's starting quintet witnessed Wake Forest (16-8, 6-5) celebrate the victory on the Coliseum's parquet floor with its fans, several players and coaches pointed to the banner honoring late head coach Skip Prosser with tears in their eyes after the landmark win.
"All last year, Coach Prosser always told us to keep fighting and play hard," sophomore guard L.D. Williams said. "He told us that you can't be soft and play at Wake Forest, and tonight we played really hard."
It was the Demon Deacons' 14th win in 15 games at Joel Coliseum this season, and the fourth time in the last five meetings that Wake Forest has beaten the Blue Devils at home.
The Demon Deacons made all the plays during the homestretch and turned the final minutes into a parade to the free-throw line, as one by one, Duke's starters headed to the bench with five fouls.
"We didn't give the type of performance that was necessary to win," said senior captain DeMarcus Nelson, the first Blue Devil to be disqualified. "We didn't play to our standards tonight. That's the hardest part about it."
Duke had battled back from a five-point halftime deficit to take a five-point advantage of its own midway through the second half. But the team didn't hit a field goal for the next seven minutes, and the Demon Deacons took advantage to the tune of a 17-2 run.
The Blue Devils missed 12 consecutive shots during that stretch and committed four of their season-high 22 turnovers.
Wake Forest did most of its damage from the charity stripe, as the Demon Deacons hit seven free throws during the stretch and drew the crucial fourth fouls on Nelson and Kyle Singler. Freshman Jeff Teague's three-point play culminated the run and gave Wake Forest a 10-point lead with under five minutes to play.
"We were down five, and we called a timeout, and I looked at the kids and I said, 'What you're thinking right now is really important, whether we think we can win, whether we think we can get the job done,'" Demon Deacons' head coach Dino Gaudio said. "We're going to find out what we're made of right here, and then we went on a little run."
A Greg Paulus 3-pointer cut the deficit to six, but a travel by Jon Scheyer and Nelson's fifth foul on the ensuing defensive possession short-circuited any momentum the Blue Devils had. With just over 90 seconds left and Duke down seven, Singler was called for a charge, and a potential three-point play became the freshman's fifth foul.
It was Wake Forest's freshmen who owned this night, as Teague and James Johnson combined for 50 points and 20 rebounds. Teague sparked Wake's offense, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points in the game's first six minutes.
"Anytime you start off with a 3-pointer, everybody's confidence goes up," Teague said. "Me hitting a 3-pointer-my confidence went sky-high. And then I hit another one. I didn't know what the deal was.... And when you're scoring, your defense is better."
Teague's hot start gave the Demon Deacons an 18-9 lead, matching Duke's largest deficit of the season. Unlike in previous contests against Maryland and N.C. State, the Blue Devils were never able to surge comfortably ahead, as turnovers and poor shooting left the door open for Wake's decisive run.
In the second half, Duke shot under 29 percent from the field and hit a paltry 3-of-20 from beyond the arc. Paulus, Scheyer and Gerald Henderson combined to make just 4-of-21 shots on the night.
"We've had plenty of games where shots didn't fall for us," sophomore Gerald Henderson said. "We've kind of fallen into being a jump-shooting team, at least tonight. We needed to get shots at the basket. We didn't take all bad shots...but the good ones we took didn't fall."
The Blue Devils' inability to hit from the perimeter allowed the Demon Deacons' guards to slide under Duke's ball screens to provide extra defenders inside. As a result, the Blue Devils had trouble driving the lane and finishing in traffic.
On the other side of the floor, Teague and fellow guard Ishmael Smith were able to get into the paint to either set up teammates, score themselves or get to the foul line. Teague was 9-for-13 from the line en route to 26 points while his classmate Johnson recorded his seventh double-double and first in ACC play with 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
"They're very athletic and quick. That's their strength," Krzyzewski said. "They have a very well-run system to take advantage of those strengths.. We lost to a very good basketball team tonight."
NOTES: It was the first time in school history that all five starters fouled out, and the first time five players had fouled out for Duke since Feb. 12, 2005 against Maryland.... Nolan Smith scored Duke's final seven points to notch a career-high 21. Smith is the seventh Blue Devil to score over 20 points this season.... Duke lost for the first time in its last six contests with Wake Forest.
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