THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412110239
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Unless Duke and Michigan find each other again in the postseason, the Wolverines' ``Fab Five era'' will end without a victory over Duke.
The Blue Devils made sure of that Saturday night with their fifth consecutive victory over the ``Fab Five,'' or what remains of it.
In an up-down-up performance, ninth-ranked Duke defeated the Wolverines, 69-59, in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils, after blowing a 17-point lead in the first half, regained control of the game in the final 10 minutes.
As the final seconds ticked down, Duke students began the chant, ``Four years, no win.''
With Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose already in the pros, the jeer was directed toward Jimmy King and Ray Howard, the only returnees from the ``Fab Five.''
The group lost its first meeting against Duke in December 1991, but vowed revenge when they met again in the 1992 NCAA championship game.
The Blue Devils won again, 71-51, however, and disappointed the Wolverines in regular-season meetings the last two years.
It seemed for awhile Saturday that King and Howard would achieve the thrill of beating a Duke team.
After Duke breezed to a 28-11 lead in the opening 10 minutes, the Wolverines scored the next 24 points to lead, 35-28.
Duke, scoreless for almost 7 1/2 minutes, helped to dig its own hole with a series of turnovers.
Freshman Ricky Price broke the scoreless run with a breakaway layup 70 seconds before the half.
Duke tied the score on Chris Collins' goal midway through the second half and regained the lead a minute later on two free throws by Erik Meek.
The Blue Devils pushed the advantage to 61-51 as Michigan went nine minutes without a point.
``This was a heckuva win for us,'' said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
``When we got off to such a good start, I think our kids made the mistake of believing it was going to be easy. We played a helluva lot better in the second half.''
The victory protected four streaks for Duke.
It was Duke's sixth straight against the Wolverines, its 14th straight against a Big Ten opponent, and the 92nd straight against non-ACC opposition in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It also was Duke's 25th consecutive December victory.
The Blue Devils have not lost to Michigan since a 113-102 overtime defeat at Michigan in 1989. by CNB