Duke Loses Its Second in a Row

Chris Paul was a high school senior sitting in the stands when Wake Forest defeated Duke in double overtime last season. He celebrated by grabbing a friend and rushing onto the court.

This season he was already there, in the middle of a mob eager to congratulate him for helping the No. 15 Demon Deacons hand No. 3 Duke consecutive losses with a 90-84 victory on Wednesday night at Winston-Salem, N.C.

“Last year was something I will never forget,” he said. “But it feels a whole lot better to be in a uniform for it. At first I kind of stepped aside when the fans came rushing out, then I jumped right into the party.”

He should have. After scoring 12 of his 23 points over the final 5:10, Paul was the honored guest.

In a testy game that came down to the final seconds, Paul -- a fearless freshman -- carried the Demon Deacons (16-6, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). He scored 19 points in the second half as Wake Forest overcame a 13-point deficit. He added eight assists and kept his teammates calm as Duke (21-3, 10-2) tried to pull it out.

But Paul capped his scoring with two free throws with 6.5 seconds left to secure the victory.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t even seem to be upset after this loss.

“Our kids played their hearts out,” he said. “If we play that hard, we are going to be fine.”

No. 2 Saint Joseph’s 72, Fordham 54 -- Jameer Nelson had 18 points and nine assists to lead the second-ranked Hawks to an easy victory at New York.

Saint Joseph’s (23-0, 12-0 Atlantic 10) and No. 1 Stanford (21-0) are the only unbeaten teams remaining in Division I, and the Hawks made sure they stayed that way with a 33-4 run bridging halftime. Fordham is 4-18, 1-10.

No. 6 Gonzaga 79, Portland 69 -- Ronny Turiaf had 19 points at Spokane, Wash., as the Bulldogs (22-2, 12-0 West Coast) set a school record with their 15th consecutive victory. Dustin Geddes led Portland (10-15, 4-8) with 16 points.

No. 8 Connecticut 76, Miami 63 -- Emeka Okafor had 18 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead the Huskies (20-5, 8-3 Big East) to a victory over the Hurricanes (13-13, 3-9) at Hartford, Conn.

No. 9 Kentucky 73, Arkansas 56 -- Erik Daniels scored 21 points at Lexington, Ky., as the Wildcats (18-4, 8-3 Southeastern) handed the Razorbacks (11-12, 3-9) a fourth consecutive loss.

No. 11 Texas 77, Texas A&M; 57 -- Brandon Mouton scored 20 points at Austin, Texas, as the Longhorns (18-4, 9-2 Big 12) broke open a tight game in the second half to rout the Aggies (7-15, 0-11).

Illinois 65, No. 12 Wisconsin 57 -- Deron Williams scored 31 points at Champaign, Ill., and the Fighting Illini (17-5, 8-3 Big Ten) overcame cold first-half shooting to defeat the Badgers (17-5, 8-3).

Clemson 60, No. 13 North Carolina State 55 -- At Clemson, S.C., the Tigers (10-13, 3-9 ACC) ended a Wolfpack winning streak at five games. North Carolina State (16-6, 9-3) shot 30.2%.

Alabama Birmingham 80, No. 17 Cincinnati 69 -- The Blazers (16-6, 9-2 Conference USA) moved into a tie with idle Memphis atop the conference standings with the victory at Birmingham, Ala. over the Bearcats (17-5, 8-3), who lost for the fourth time in six games.

No. 20 Southern Illinois 84, Evansville 69 -- The Salukis (21-2, 15-0 Missouri Valley) clinched their third conference title in a row by defeating the Purple Aces (5-18, 4-11) at Evansville, Ind., for their 13th consecutive victory.

No. 21 Kansas 74, Baylor 54 -- J.R. Giddens made two three-point baskets during a 17-4 run to help the Jayhawks (16-6, 8-3 Big 12) pull away from the Bears (7-17, 2-9) at Lawrence, Kan.

Colorado 85, No. 22 Texas Tech 75 -- David Harrison had 24 points at Boulder, Colo., as the Buffaloes (14-8, 6-5 Big 12) upended the Red Raiders (18-7, 6-5), who have lost five of seven.

Auburn 80, No. 24 Louisiana State 68 -- Ian Young scored 21 points to lead Auburn (13-9, 4-7 SEC) at Baton Rouge, La. Louisiana State is 17-5, 7-7.

OTHER GAMES

Marquette, (13-9, 4-7 Conference USA) which made the Final Four last season, is in jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament after losing its fourth in a row, a 58-54 setback to St. Louis (13-9, 6-6) at St. Louis.... Lester Abram scored 16 points as Michigan (14-8, 5-6 Big Ten) ended a two-game losing streak with a 76-53 victory over Penn State (9-13, 3-8) at Ann Arbor, Mich.... Brody Boyd scored 25 points and Iowa (14-9, 7-5 Big Ten) held on for a 78-67 victory over Ohio State (11-13, 3-8) at Columbus, Ohio.... Kris Humphries scored a career-high 36 points to lead Minnesota (10-14, 2-10 Big Ten) to a 73-71 victory over Indiana (12-11, 6-6) at Bloomington, Ind.... Brandon Crump had 25 points to help Tennessee (13-9, 5-6 SEC) romp to an 83-66 victory over Mississippi (12-10, 4-7) at Knoxville, Tenn.... Missouri (12-10, 6-5 Big 12) defeated Iowa State, 82-70, at Columbia, Mo. It was the 22nd conference road loss in a row for the Cyclones (14-8, 5-6). Fresno State (12-11, 8-6 Western Athletic) overcame the loss of three suspended players and rolled to a 61-41 victory over Tulsa (7-16, 3-11) at Tulsa, Okla. ... Daryll Hill scored 22 points to lead short-handed St. John’s (6-16, 1-10) to its first Big East victory, a 65-58 upset of Georgetown (13-9, 4-7) at New York.

WOMEN

Laurie Koehn scored 22 points to lead No. 8 Kansas State (20-3, 11-1 Big 12) to a 59-56 victory over Texas A&M; (8-16, 1-12) at College Station, Texas.... Steffanie Blackmon had 20 points to lead No. 19 Baylor (19-6, 7-5 Big 12) to a 76-61 victory over Oklahoma State (8-16, 3-10) at Waco, Texas. ...

Maria Villaroel scored 28 points at Norman, Okla., and No. 24 Oklahoma (17-6, 7-5 Big 12) defeated No. 13 Colorado, 78-58. The Buffaloes are 19-5, 8-4.... Tamara James had 26 points as No. 22 Miami (19-4, 8-4 Big East) rolled to an 85-65 victory over Syracuse (6-17, 3-10) at Syracuse, N.Y.

NOTES

Bob Knight dropped his breach-of-contract lawsuit against Indiana almost four years after being fired as its coach. Knight sued Indiana in 2002, saying it failed to follow proper procedures in dismissing him. He said losing the job cost him $2 million in income from media contracts, basketball camps and endorsements.

*

Swingman Christian Drejer has quit Florida to play for FC Barcelona in Spain. He reportedly will make $1 million a season.

*

Referees suspended a game between Rutgers-Camden and Montclair State at Camden, N.J. after a fight under the basket. The brawl halted the Division III game with 4:03 remaining in the first half. No one was injured.

*

Hawaii women’s Coach Vince Goo, 57, the winningest coach in the program’s history, will retire at the end of the season. Goo, has a 331-162 career record.