ACC Stunner
Jeff Teague scored 26 points and Wake Forest shocked No. 2 Duke 86-73 on Sunday night, ending the Blue Devils’ 12-game winning streak and giving first-year coach Dino Gaudio his first big victory as the heir of the late Skip Prosser’s program.
James Johnson added 24 points for the Demon Deacons (16-8, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who claimed their first victory against a top-five team since they also knocked off the then-No. 4 Blue Devils on Feb. 2, 2005.
Wake Forest won its third straight, improved to 14-1 on its home court and snapped a five-game losing streak in the series on the strength of a 17-2 run midway through the second half and some smothering defense, forcing the Blue Devils into a season-high 22 turnovers.
The Demon Deacons held Duke (22-2, 10-1) without a field goal for more than 7 minutes in building the first double-figure lead of the game for either team, with Teague’s three-point play with 4:58 left making it 72-62.
After Kyle Singler’s layup at the 11:20 mark gave the Blue Devils their largest lead of the half at 60-55, they missed 11 consecutive shots before Paulus ended the drought with a 3 with just over 4 minutes left. They didn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way.
Freshman Nolan Smith scored a season-high 21 points, DeMarcus Nelson had 18 points and Singler finished with 17 for the Blue Devils, who had all five starters foul out in the closing moments in losing for the fourth time in five visits to Winston-Salem.
Jamie Skeen added 10 points for Wake Forest, which came out determined to honor Prosser’s memory and give Gaudio a signature win, rocking the Joel Coliseum like it hadn’t been in years.
With students spelling out “WIN 4 SKIP” in body paint and the players loudly chanting “Dino” in the hallway beforehand, Wake Forest came out firing and opened the game with an 18-9 run. Teague scored 11 points during the burst, capping it with his third 3-pointer 5 1/2 minutes into the game. The Demon Deacons led for most of the first half, with Skeen’s stickback at the buzzer giving them a 47-42 lead.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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