Deacons Dig Hole, Hold On

Top 25

Wake Forest dug itself a first-half hole for the third straight home game, but Tim Duncan was there again to rescue the fourth-ranked Demon Deacons, scoring 22 points in a 61-58 victory over Florida State on Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (15-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), playing less than 48 hours after beating No. 2 Clemson on the road, won despite starting the game 1 for 15 from 3-point range and falling behind by 13 points in the first half.

Wake Forest’s last four ACC games have been decided by a total of 13 points. Free-throw misses by Joseph Amonett and Ricky Peral in the final 10 seconds kept Florida State in the game.

The Seminoles (11-5, 2-5) had two chances in the game’s final seconds to either tie the game or win it.

(5) Utah 78, Rice 58

In Salt Lake City, Keith Van Horn scored 23 points and Michael Doleac added 20 as the Utes routed the Owls in the first game between the schools since 1963.

Van Horn made 10 of 15 shots, including two 3-pointers for Utah (13-2, 5-0 Western Athletic Conference). The 6-foot-10 forward played just 26 minutes.

The game marked the ninth consecutive home conference win for Utah, which beat Rice 79-72 in 1963 the last time the schools met. The Owls joined the WAC this season after playing in the Southwest Conference.

The Owls fell to 7-8, 1-4.

(8) Minnesota 91, Purdue 68

Bobby Jackson had 20 points and eight rebounds as the Golden Gophers continued their push toward their first Big Ten title since 1982 with a victory over the three-time defending conference champion Boilermakers in Minneapolis.

Eric Harris and Sam Jacobson added 17 points each for the Golden Gophers, who had lost their last seven games to the Boilermakers (9-8, 4-3). Minnesota (18-2, 7-1) is off to its best conference start since the 1916-17 team opened 8-1 on its way to the Big Ten championship.

(12) Villanova 84, (22) BC 66

Alvin Williams scored 23 points and hit three 3-pointers during a game-breaking 22-7 first-half run to lead Villanova to victory over Boston College in Newton, Mass.

Jason Lawson finished with 21 points and freshman Tim Thomas added 19 for the Wildcats (15-4, 6-3 Big East).

It was the 11th consecutive loss against a ranked opponent for the Eagles (13-4, 7-2).

(13) Michigan 74, Michigan St. 61

Maurice Taylor scored 18 points before fouling out with 8:01 remaining, then the rest of Michigan’s front line stepped up for a victory over Michigan State (11-5) in a non-conference game between Big Ten rivals in East Lansing.

This season’s Big Ten schedule calls for Michigan (14-5) and Michigan State to meet once. The schools elected to meet twice, anyway.

(14) Iowa St. 64, (20) Texas Tech 61

Kelvin Cato scored 18 points, blocked eight shots and helped shut down center Tony Battie as the Cyclones (13-3, 4-2 Big 12) beat the Red Raiders (13-4, 5-2) in Ames, Iowa.

(15) New Mexico 61, UTEP 49

David Gibson’s nine points rescued an offensively starved New Mexico team in the second half and the Lobos escaped with a victory over the Miners in Albuquerque.

Gibson, who finished with 11 points, made three of New Mexico’s six field goals in the final 20 minutes and added three free throws as the Lobos (15-3, 4-2 Western Athletic Conference) extended the nation’s third-longest home winning streak to 21. The Miners are 8-8, 2-5.

Duquesne 78, (16) Xavier 70

Tom Pipkins tied his career high with 30 points, 10 of them in the final 4 minutes, as the Dukes (6-10, 2-4 Atlantic 10) overcame a second-half letdown and beat the Muskateers (13-3, 4-2).

(24) Tulsa 72, Brigham Young 56

Rod Thompson’s steal and two free throws with 2:50 left in the game blunted a rally and Tulsa went on to defeat struggling BYU in Provo, Utah.

Tulsa (15-4, 5-0 Western Athletic Conference) led 55-37 after Eric Coley’s three-point play with 7:31 remaining.

BYU is 1-15, 0-6.