GREENSBORO, N.C., March 10 -- Randolph Childress scored a career-high 40 points Friday, including 27 in the first half that sparked Wake Forest on a dramatic comeback and brought the top-seeded Demon Deacons an 87-70 win over Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Childress hit eight three-point shots to break the ACC Tournament record of six and Wake Forest made 16 three-point shots overall to also break the tourney mark. The victory sends the Demon Deacons, 25-5, into a semifinal showdown Saturday against fourth-seeded Virginia -- 77-67 winners over Georgia Tech in Friday's first quarterfinal game. In addition to the outstanding performance by Childress, Wake Forest also got 15 points from Tim Duncan and 12 from Ricky Peral. The Blue Devils, who last year made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament title game before losing to Arkansas, ends their season at 13-18. Duke was led by Erik Meek with 18 followed by Trajan Langdon's 15. The entertaining first half saw both teams shot 60 percent with Childress hitting 10 consecutive field goals. Childress played a huge role in Wake Forest's comeback from a 31-13 deficit as the Demon Deacons went on a 15-0 run to pull to within 31-28 with 4:47 remaining in the half. 'During a timeout, I was really embarassed,' Childress said. 'Duke was a more aggressive team. We pride ourselves in being an aggressive defensive team and we just didn't show up. We knew we had time to come back.
We knew we would cut into their lead. I just didn't think it would be that fast.' Childress started the run when he connected on a three-pointer ffromthe corner with 8:08 left in the half. Rusty LaRue hit from the same spot at 7:43 to bring Wake Forest within 31-19. Later in the rally, Childress hit two more three-pointers around a score by Duke's Erik Meek to cut it 36-34. With Duke leading 43-38, Peral's three-pointer from the corner brought Wake within 43-41. Childress tied the game for with a shot from the key with 53 seconds left in the half. After Duke's Ricky Price scored on a tip-in, Wake Forest took the lead when Duncan scored under the basket and was fouled by Trajan Langdon with two seconds remaining. His free throw gave the Deacons a 46-45 lead at the half. 'Duke University brought out the best in Wake Forest University's basketball team today,' said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. 'They were much more ready to play in the beginning than we were. I think our whole team is embarrassed about the way we began. 'Duke was literally on fire. Our defense was as soft as tissue paper and our offense was as soft as tissue paper. What you saw is a team that primed from the beginning and another that was not. It's not what I said during the timeout (before the run) that made the difference, it is what our team felt about themselves, primarily Randolph that made the difference. 'They were embarassed, hurt and they are not used to that. From that point on, we can all stand tall. We played very well.' 'It's not a sense of relief,' said interim Duke coach Pete Gaudet, referring to the fact the Blue Devils long and disappointing season is over. 'We wanted to keep playing. March has always been a long month for Duke. At this point, I'm disappointed I don't have an opportunity to coach the next game. You always have a sick feeling when you play a lot and lose that last game.'
