Timeout Gaffe Sinks Wake Forest

Josh Howard sat in front of his locker, sobbing uncontrollably with his head buried in a towel.

Playing with a painful sprained left ankle, Howard had 18 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes for No. 20 Wake Forest on Sunday. But the junior forward also made a mistake that cost his team a possible victory.

Juan Dixon made a technical free throw with 1.3 seconds left after Howard called a timeout that Wake Forest didn’t have to cap Maryland’s 90-89 victory at College Park, Md.

Lonny Baxter scored 25 points and Dixon had 20 for the Terrapins (23-3, 13-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed by 12 points shortly after halftime.

The Terrapins led, 89-87, before Howard scored and was fouled with 10.1 seconds left. He missed the free throw, and after Dixon missed a jump shot, Howard grabbed the rebound and quickly formed a “T” with his hands.

The Demon Deacons (18-10, 8-6) received an automatic technical foul. Dixon made the first shot, missed the second, and Wake Forest’s Broderick Hicks came up short on a long field-goal attempt as time expired.

“It was instinct. I could make a million excuses, but I just messed up,” Howard said. “A lot of people have done it. I’m just one of them. The worst thing is that I let down my team.”

No. 3 Duke 97, St. John’s 55--Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer each had 12 points in Duke’s 35-1 run to close the first half at Durham, N.C., and the Blue Devils (25-2) handed the Red Storm its fourth-worst loss ever.

Williams finished with 26 points and Boozer had 20 and 11 rebounds. Eric King had 16 points for the Red Storm (18-9).

Michigan State 57, No. 23 Indiana 54--Marcus Taylor scored 16 points and the Spartans (17-10, 8-6 Big Ten) rallied from a 16-point deficit at East Lansing, Mich.

AROUND THE NATION

Houston Coach Ray McCallum said leading scorer Dominic Smith, leading rebounder Louis Truscott, Kevin Gaines and Marcus Oliver have been suspended for an unspecified time for violating team rules. McCallum said Gaines will not return this season.

WOMEN

Kara Lawson scored 18 points and No. 4 Tennessee (24-3, 13-1) defeated Kentucky, 89-64, for its 40th consecutive Southeastern Conference home victory.... Alana Beard had 26 points and No. 5 Duke (24-3, 16-0 ACC) beat No. 19 North Carolina, 90-75, at Chapel Hill, N.C.... Chantelle Anderson’s 19 points led No. 6 Vanderbilt (24-6, 10-4 SEC) past Auburn, 72-54, at Nashville.... Danielle Crockrom’s bank shot at the buzzer lifted No. 9 Baylor (23-4, 11-4 Big 12) past Oklahoma State, 62-61, at Stillwater, Okla.

No. 10 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) got 24 points from Shaunzinski Gortman to defeat Mississippi, 82-58, at Columbia, S.C.... Vnemina Reese’s 28 points carried Michigan State in an 80-72 Big Ten victory against No. 14 Minnesota at Minneapolis.... Mississippi State upset No. 16 Florida, 83-63, at Starkville, Miss., behind LaToya Thomas’ 40 points.

Okiesha Howard had 18 points for No. 18 Old Dominion (21-5, 17-0 Colonial Athletic Assn.) in a 90-57 rout of Drexel at Philadelphia.... Shameka Christon scored 18 points and Arkansas defeated No. 23 Georgia, 66-45, at Fayetteville, Ark.... Valerie King’s 26 points led No. 25 Cincinnati past Louisville, 85-71, at Cincinnati.