WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Jeff Capel and Roshown McLeod made key shots down the stretch Wednesday night as No. 8 Duke beat No. 2 Wake Forest for the first time in 10 meetings 73-68, likely denying the Demon Deacons the nation’s No. 1 ranking.
Wake Forest (18-2, 8-2) was all set to take over the top ranking after losses this week by No. 1 Kansas and No. 3 Kentucky. But the Blue Devils (18-5, 7-3) pulled out the win down the stretch, becoming the first team to shoot over 39 percent this season against the Demon Deacons with a 46.4 percent effort.
Coincidentally, in 1994 it was Wake Forest which beat Duke twice — both times denying the Blue Devils the top ranking.
Capel led Duke with 18 points, while McLeod added 16 for the Blue Devils, who only turned the ball over nine times.
Tim Duncan led Wake Forest with 26 points, but missed five free throws during a crucial two-minute span late and didn’t take a shot in the final five minutes.
With the score tied 62-62 with 3:40 left, McLeod nailed a 3-pointer — and after Wake Forest closed to one — Capel hit a tough, double-clutching 15-footer to push the lead back to three.
Freshman Chris Carrawell, and not Duncan, then came up with the game’s top defensive play. He blocked a driving layup attempt by Wake’s Tony Rutland with 1:20 left and the Demon Deacons were then forced to foul.
Only problem was that Trajan Langdon, a 90 percent free throw shooter, was the player they choose. He sank four straight from the foul line to seal the win as Duke won for the seventh time in eight games to move within one game of the Demon Deacons in the ACC standings.
Duke hit five straight shots, including a 3-pointer and an 18-footer from freshman Mike Chappell, during a span of 2:10 midway through the second half to take an 11-point lead — its largest.
But Wake Forest went on a 9-0 run, fueled by Duncan’s six points, as the Demon Deacons crawled back into a contest they had trailed for all but two minutes.
A 3-pointer by reserve Steven Goolsby and a 15-foot jumper by Ricky Peral gave Wake Forest a 62-60 lead before Duke’s final rally.
The Blue Devils led by as many as nine points in the opening 20 minutes as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski benched senior center Greg Newton, the team’s leading rebounder and shot blocker, and went with a small lineup against Wake Forest’s tall frontline.
Duke’s pressure defense caused Wake Forest to turn the ball over nine times in the game’s first 9 minutes as the Blue Devils went up 23-14. Duke matched its nine-point lead on three other occasions in the opening half before the Demon Deacons closed to 36-30 at intermission.
GAME SUMMARY
##8 Duke 36 37 — 73
##2 Wake Forest 30 38 — 68
Duke — Carrawell 3-4 1-2 7, Langdon 2-8 5-5 10, McLeod 6-12 0-0 16, Wojciechowski 2-4 0-0 5, Capel 7-15 2-5 18, Chappell 2-4 1-2 6, Price 3-6 3-4 9, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, James 0-2 0-0 0, Domzalski 0-0 0-0 0, Newton 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-56 12-18 73.
Wake Forest — Woods 3-5 3-4 9, Amonett 1-3 0-0 3, Duncan 11-13 4-9 26, Braswell 5-7 2-2 13, Rutland 2-8 3-3 7, Peral 2-7 0-1 4, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Goolsby 2-4 0-0 6. Totals 26-47 12-19 68.
3-point baskets — Duke 9-22 (McLeod 4-7, Capel 2-2, Wojciechowski 1-3, Chappell 1-3, Langdon 1-5, Price 0-2), Wake Forest 4-11 (Goolsby 2-3, Braswell 1-1, Amonett 1-3, Peral 0-1, Rutland 0-3). Fouled out — Peral. Rebounds — Duke 23 (Carrawell 7), Wake Forest 34 (Duncan 7). Assists — Duke 9 (Capel 3), Wake Forest 11 (Braswell, Peral 3). Total Fouls — Duke 21, Wake Forest 17. A — 14,407.
