Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 13, 1993 TAG: 9303130262
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANK VEHORN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
GEORGIA TECH THWARTS DUKE RALLY 69-66
Duke now can devote full attention to winning its third straight NCAA men's basketball championship.The eighth-ranked Blue Devils lost their chance of becoming the first ACC tournament repeat champion since 1982 when unranked Georgia Tech upset Duke 69-66 on Friday night.
It was the third upset of the opening round as the second, third and fourth seeds were sent packing. No. 2 Florida State and No. 4 Wake Forest had fallen earlier.
No. 6 seed Tech (17-10) will play No. 7 Clemson in today's semifinals at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Blue Devils were left with a 23-7 record.
Bobby Hurley, who had 17 points and eight assists, warned that if the Blue Devils don't "make a quick turnaround, we are not going to make any noise in the NCAAs."
It was Duke's first opening-round loss in the league tournament since 1987 - a 71-64 overtime defeat to N.C. State. The result spoiled the return of Grant Hill, who had been out since spraining the big toe on his left foot on Feb. 13. He did not have his normal quickness but didn't offer any excuses.
"I did what I could," he said.
That almost was enough to bring Duke back.
Hill made a 3-pointer and followed with a 3-point play as Duke sliced a 10-point lead to 63-60.
Another Hill goal tied the score at 64 with 2:30 remaining.
Cherokee Parks tied it again at 66, but the Blue Devils failed to reply to James Forrest's goal with 1:07 left. They had opportunities, however, with Tech's Malcolm Mackey missing three of four field goal attempts in the final 24 seconds.
Thomas Hill missed a 3-point try with eight seconds left and freshman Chris Collins' attempt to tie at the buzzer circled the rim and popped out.
"That was a shot I could have made, and one I felt I did make," Collins said. "It's a shot I've made a million times in my backyard."
Forrest, with a career performance, finished with 27 points, making 13 of 15 field-goal attempts. He also had six rebounds.
Tech pounded Duke on the boards 39-25, with Mackey getting 14, plus four blocked shots.
Forrest didn't start because he was late for a team meeting, but when he got in he was trouble.
"He was sensational," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "That's one of the better performances in our league this year."
Tech coach Bobby Cremins said: "That was as well as we can play. . . . This team has been knocked out a few times. We've played some ugly basketball, but they didn't quit."
Eric Schurer of the Gaston Gazette and Gary McCann of the Greensboro News & Record provided information for this story. \
see microfilm for box score