NEW ORLEANS -- Wake Forest senior point guard Ishmael Smith is far from the best 3-pointer shooter around and his free-throw shooting could use some work, too.But when it comes to last-minute clutch shots there aren't many players you'd want to have the ball than Smith. Smith added to his collection of late-game heroics Thursday night when he raced down the floor and pulled up for a short jumper with a second remaining on the clock to lift the No. 9 seed Demon Deacons to a thrilling 81-80 overtime win over No. 8 Texas in a East Region game at the New Orleans Arena.
"He makes big shots, he makes big free throws," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said of Smith. "He's a lion. This team is led by a tough son of a gun at point guard."
That was certainly evident after Texas forward Gary Johnson missed two free throws with 10 seconds remaining and Smith raced down the court with the ball. His shot ended a thrilling game and put a stop to the Deacons' rapid late-season slide.
Smith had 19 points, seven assists and grabbed 12 rebounds in 44 minutes.
"This has to be No. 1, obviously," Smith responded when asked how Thursday night's pull-up jumper to clinch the win ranks among the big shots he has made in his career. "I think in the regular season, you live to play another game. But now you are in a position [where] you lose, you go home."
Share The Demon Deacons move on to face No. 1 Kentucky Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. The Longhorns, meanwhile, are left to try to make sense of a disastrous season that saw them rank No. 1 in the country for two weeks to completely falling out of the polls before the end of the regular season.
But the Longhorns looked as though they might advance after rallying in both the first and second halves and then claiming a seemingly commanding 78-72 lead in the first three minutes of the overtime period. But that is when things began to unravel as Texas converted just two of six free throws down the stretch to let Wake Forest get back into the game.
Freshman J'Covan Brown missed both free throws with 49.4 seconds left and then Johnson missed both free throws with 10 seconds remaining. Wake Forest, meanwhile, received a necessary jolt when center Tony Woods came through with his second thunderous follow dunk in the overtime period.
That began a 9-2 run in the final 1:06 that ended with Smith's game-winning jumper.
UT coach Rick Barnes said while most will point to the four missed free throws down the stretch, he pointed to the 59-34 rebounding edge Wake Forest held as the major reason for his team's loss. Wake Forest had nearly as many offensive rebounds (20) as the Longhorns had defensive rebounds (24). Woods led the way with seven of his total eight rebounds coming on the offensive boards.
"I don't ever remember getting outrebounded 59-34," Barnes said. "We could have just came up with, you know, one or two of those rebounds at the end of the game. I think obviously that would have been a big key."
Forward Al-Farouq Aminu led Wake Forest with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Brown came off the bench to lead the Longhorns with 20 points while freshman Jordan Hamilton added 19 points off the bench, as well.
UT senior Damion James, along with center Dexter Pittman and guard Justin Mason, played his last game in a Longhorns uniform. James finished with 16 points and six rebounds but spent the final 35.4 seconds of overtime on the bench after fouling out. James helped force the overtime by tying the score at 68-68 with 9.9 remaining in regulation and then he came up with a steal off Wake Forest guard L.D. Williams as the clock wound down.
"I am proud of our senior class," Barnes said. "What Damion, Dexter and Justin Mason have meant to this program over four years is something that we all truly appreciate."
"He's a lion. This team is led by a tough son of a gun at point guard."
-- Coach Dino Gaudio on Ishmael Smith GAME BALL GOES TO
Wake Forest center Tony Woods, who soared over Texas' big men for two huge put-backs in overtime that ignited the Demon Deacons. His last follow-up dunk set in a motion a 9-2 run in the final 1:07 to clinch the victory for Wake Forest.
HEART GOES OUT TO
Texas senior forward Damion James, who returned to school this year to improve his game and to lead the Longhorns deep into the NCAA tournament. But when it was clutch time in OT, all James could do was watch after picking up his fifth foul with 35.4 remaining in the extra period. James ended up with 16 points and six rebounds on the night.
KEY ELEMENT
Wake Forest outrebounded the Longhorns 59-34, which included 20 offensive rebounds. Not surprisingly, the Demon Deacons outscored Texas on second-chance points 25-7.
WHERE TO FROM HERE
The Demon Deacons move on to the second round of the East Region.
WHO'S GOT NEXT?
Wake Forest will take on No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday. The Demon Deacons are 0-4 all-time against the Wildcats.
SOUNDBITE
"I just tried to play real hard. I didn't worry about myself offensively or anything like that. I just wanted to win so bad for the seniors and everything like that."
-- Wake Forest sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu on his strong offensive game.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Thank goodness that Wake Forest put Texas out of their misery. Now Ricky Barnes and his lame staff can concentrate on stinking up the floor next year.
if there ever was a game that got away, this is it. Texas had an eight point lead that they lost in the ot. Wake went out and got it, so they deserve the Win. Devastating loss for Texas.
The coaching at Texas is a pathetic joke...and those are the dumbest..laziest athletes Texas has ever had. They are dumb because they are not coached. Lazy because they are allowed to be....I HOPE NO NBA SCOUTS LOOK AT THEM surely they willl be able to see they have no work ethic or desire....AN EMBARRASEMENT TO THE STATE OF TEXAS!!!!