THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 12, 1994 TAG: 9412120143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Unless Duke and Michigan find each other again in the NCAA tournament, the Wolverines' ``Fab Five'' era will end without a much desired 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 noisy Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils, after blowing a 17-point lead in the first half, regained control in the final 10 minutes.
As the final seconds ticked down, Duke students began chanting, ``Four years, no wins.''
With Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, and Jalen Rose already in the pros, the jeer was meant for Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, the only members of the Fab Five still around as seniors.
The group lost its first meeting against Duke in December 1991 as freshmen but vowed revenge when they met again at the end of the season in the NCAA championship game.
However, the Blue Devils won that one too, 71-51, and have continued to disappoint the Wolverines in regular-season meetings.
But it seemed for awhile Saturday that King and Jackson might finally achieve the thrill of beating a Duke team.
After Duke breezed into a 28-11 lead in the opening 10 minutes, the Wolverines went on a 24-point run to lead, 35-28.
Duke, scoreless for almost 7 1/2 minutes, helped to dig that hole with a series of turnovers.
``We weren't missing shots, because we were giving the ball away before we had a chance to shoot,'' said Duke center Cherokee Parks.
Freshman Ricky Price broke the scoreless run with a layup 70 seconds before the break.
Duke tied the score on Chris Collins' field goal midway through the second half and regained the lead on two free throws by Erik Meek.
Then the Blue Devils pushed the advantage to 61-51 as Michigan went almost nine minutes without a point down the stretch.
The victory kept four streaks alive for the Blue Devils. It was their sixth straight win against the Wolverines, their 14th straight against Big Ten opponents, and Duke's 92nd straight against non-ACC opposition in Cameron Indoor Stadium. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Duke's Erik Meek slams over Jerod Ward of Michigan during Duke's
69-59 win Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
by CNB