Amazing: Smith caps a wild night

NEW ORLEANS --

On one of his longest basketball nights, and potentially his last college night, Ish Smith drilled an overtime jumper that kept the Wake Forest clock running 81-80.

It was a most dramatic finish to a most improbable game. Texas had no rational right being in the mix for much of the game, and Wake Forest had no rational reason to expect a last-gasp rally.

The Longhorns survived on bench scoring, Deacons turnovers and an unlikely companion -- the suffocating zone defense. The Deacons survived because Texas missed a foul shot near the end of regulation and two more near the end of the overtime.

Ari Stewart's 3-pointer from the left corner cut the margin to 80-79 with 15.9 seconds left.

Nearly six seconds ran off the clock before Smith fouled Gary Johnson, who pulled both shots wide left. Wake Forest rushed down the court and Smith nailed a 14-footer with 1.3 seconds on the clock.

"A big difference in the game was the backcourts," Coach Dino Gaudio said. "We guarded the 3-point line better in the second half. We're not the prettiest team in the world, we don't shoot the ball straight a lot of time, but defense was the difference in the basketball game. So, we live to fight another day."

The Deacons will play again Saturday night at 8:15 against Kentucky, the East Region's top seed.

Every team starts over in the tournament, but the restarts begin in the backstretch with debris all over the track. Only the rarest team can pull down the curtain, wall off the recent past and play with a fresh head.

Duke did it in 1990, imploding at the ACC Tournament but piecing things together on the fly and reaching the NCAA championship game. Wake Forest arrived at this event facing similar obstacles.

The Deacons looked capable of challenging Duke and Maryland before everything unraveled. Almost imperceptibly, a second-half fade at Virginia Tech touched off the slide, five losses in six games.

The selection committee, which featured Athletics Director Ron Wellman as a rookie member, slotted Wake Forest as the No. 9 seed in the East, matched against downhill racer Texas. When the NCAA committee assignments were handed out, Wellman got the Jacksonville site, not New Orleans.

Fans from both teams got a good look at second-round opponent Kentucky in the night session's opener. The Wildcats, picked as the eventual champ on many pool sheets that didn't take Kansas, fumbled around for a few minutes before activating the dunk machine and rambling on, 100-71.

For half the first half, Texas looked incapable of scoring 100 points in a week. The Deacons put a little starch and a little muscle in the defense. Chas McFarland irritated Longhorn Dexter Pittman, whose short temper contributed to two early fouls.

Smith (19 points, seven assists, eight rebounds) made Texas pay for clanging jumpers, racing into the frontcourt and disrupting the core of the Longhorns' man-to-man defense. The Deacons stretched the lead to 11 with 12 minutes left, but reserve Jordan Hamilton and a zone revived the Longhorns.

Hamilton scored 16 points in 16 minutes, and Wake Forest went cold. Al-Farouq Aminu (20 points) not only missed a 1-footer; he missed the entire rim. The Deacons were down 38-37 at the half.

The Deacons rode fresh momentum and Smith's varied brilliance to a 12-point lead, but again the Texas zone rescued the flailing Longhorns' defense.

Everything came down to two plays after Wake Forest took a 68-67 lead. L.D. Williams blocked Johnson's shot, and the teams tied up the loose ball. Wake Forest retained possession.

All the Deacons had to do was make an inbounds pass, accept the foul and go to the line. Williams, the baseline passer, moved to his right instead of staying on the required spot, a walking violation.

James drove and had his shot blocked, but a foul was called on Aminu. James made the first but blew a chance to put Texas ahead when he missed the second with 9.9 seconds remaining.

The Longhorns paid for their wasted chances, and the Deacons still have a chance. As they say, amazing.

lrawlings@wsjournal.com.