COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : SOUTHEAST REGIONAL / AT LEXINGTON, KY. : Duncan Gets Older as Wake Forest Wins

A 17-year-old freshman center had to grow up quickly Thursday.

Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan sat for a while next to Coach David Odom and got an earful about passive play after giving up a couple of easy baskets.

Duncan listened and learned.

He had 16 points and 13 rebounds and blocked eight shots as Wake Forest overcame a nearly game-long deficit and beat Charleston, 68-58, in the first round of the NCAA Southeast Regional on Thursday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

“I did what the coach told me to do,” said Duncan, who is from the Virgin Islands. “He took me out in the second half because my man scored twice. He told me I was playing soft. He gave me another chance.”

Duncan took advantage of it, keeping Charleston from taking the ball inside. The Cougars, ranked sixth in the nation in shooting at 50.1%, shot only 35%.

“He is a young colt who is good at this stage of his career. He has a bright future ahead of him at Wake and in the pros,” said Charleston Coach John Kresse, whose own future is rumored elsewhere, perhaps at Providence.

Still, fifth-seeded Wake Forest (21-11) needed some outside punch in the final minutes, and Marc Blucas and Charlie Harrison each hit two three-pointers during a late 16-6 run. In each case, they one-upped an offensive effort by Charleston (24-4), which was making its first appearance in the tournament and holding the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 games.

Harrison answered Stacy Harris’ layup with a three-pointer, then answered Thad Delaney’s layup with another three to tie the score, 52-52, at 4:19.

Blucas hit a three-pointer to answer two free throws by Charleston’s Marion Busby, then another three to answer a Harris jump shot and put Wake in front for good.

After Duncan blocked a shot, Wake Forest’s Trelonnie Owens sank a short jump shot and Duncan hit two free throws, giving Wake a 62-56 lead with 1:22 remaining.

It was the only basket of the game for Owens, who averages 15.7 points.

“If you had told me he was going to get only one basket and we were going to win, I would have told you that you didn’t know anything about basketball and that it wouldn’t happen,” Odom said.

Kansas 102, Tennessee Chattnooga 73--The fourth-seeded Jayhawks took a 9-0 lead and held the Moccasins without a field goal for almost 7 1/2 minutes.

It was the 11th consecutive opening-round victory for Kansas.

“Sean Pearson got us off to a great start with the two threes and Richard Scott was an absolute man inside,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. “We had great defensive intensity and then kept it up for 40 minutes.”

The Jayhawks (26-7) held 13th-seeded Tennessee Chattanooga (23-6) to a season-low 30% shooting (19 for 63), including a one-for-13 effort by Chad Copeland, the Southern Conference player of the year.

Kansas advanced to a second-round game Saturday against Wake Forest.

Purdue 98, Central Florida 67--Glenn Robinson has found the secret to Kentucky’s success in Rupp Arena: the baskets.

“They have some great shooting rims here in Kentucky,” said Robinson, who scored 31 points to lead top-seeded Purdue (27-4). “Kentucky makes 12 or 13 threes a game. You have to have soft rims.”

Robinson made of five of seven three-point shots as Purdue connected on 14 of 26 shots behind the arc for the game, including eight of 11 in the second half when it blew away the Golden Knights (21-9).

Purdue plays next on Saturday against Alabama.

Alabama 76, Providence 70--Freshman Antonio McDyess had seven points in a 10-0 second-half run and the Crimson Tide (20-9) dominated the backboards against the Friars (20-10), who had won eight in a row, including three in the Big East tournament.