Duncan Lighter Than Usual but Heavy on Texas

Tim Duncan wasn’t himself Sunday. But the Wake Forest star steered the Demon Deacons to a 65-62 victory over Texas in a second-round NCAA Midwest Regional game.

“It was very tough because I didn’t have all the wind that I usually have and all the stamina that I usually have.” said Duncan, who had lost 10 pounds in four days because of a stomach virus.

“There were stretches where I just wanted to sit down for a little while and stop. But I got some rest in the timeouts and for the most part I got a pretty good break at times.”

Duncan was held to 13 points, but he played a team-high 38 minutes and also had 11 rebounds.

His rim-shaking dunk with 4:31 left tied the game, 59-59, as the Demon Deacons rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit.

With Wake Forest (25-5) leading by one, Duncan missed a free throw with 18.4 seconds left, but teammate Steven Goolsby came up with the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws.

Texas (21-10) had one last chance.

Reggie Freeman couldn’t find an opening and after dribbling away most of the remaining clock, put up a running three-point shot just before the buzzer. The ball hit the rim, Duncan grabbed the rebound and the Demon Deacons had made the round of 16 for a second year in a row.

Freeman, the Longhorns’ leading scorer with a 22-point average, finished with 13 points but was scoreless in the second half.

“There was supposed to be a screen for Brandy [Perryman], and we had a little miscommunication. I got the shot off and it came off,” said Freeman, who made only five of 19 shots from the field.

Ricky Peral led Wake Forest with 16 points.

The second-seeded Demon Deacons will play Louisville on Thursday in Minneapolis.