BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

WINSTON-SALEM— In just 7.4 seconds, Robert O’Kelley’s Senior Day did an about-face from delight to disaster.

Duke freshman Chris Duhon nailed an improbable one-handed runner from 15 feet to give his team an 82-80 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday. Duhon’s buzzer-beater came seconds after O’Kelley, Wake’s celebrated senior, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game.

“O’Kelley made an incredible play and we made an incredible play on the last shot,”Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “An incredible play had to beat an incredible play.”

The fourth-ranked Blue Devils improved to 25-3 overall and 12-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after rallying from nine points down with 5:24 to go. Wake (18-9, 7-8) got outscored 16-5 in the closing minutes and dropped its 10th straight decision against the BlueDevils.

A rowdy sell-out crowd of 14,400 packed the Joel Coliseum to honor O’Kelley, Rafael Vidaurreta and Josh Shoemaker. Vidaurreta tallied a season-high 11 points and 12 rebounds on perfect shooting, but the Demon Deacon fans thrilled at O’Kelley’s success.

The guard’s rocky career — from a starring role his first two seasons to a low-scoring junior year to coming off the bench at times as a senior — ended on a high note. His two 3-pointers in the second half sparked a Deacon run that left them ahead 75-66 with five minutes left.

Duke point guard Jason Williams, plagued by injury and foul trouble much of the day, got up off the bench with his four fouls after a Duke timeout and drained a pair of 3-pointers from the corner to start the Devils’ rally.

Williams also played such tight defense on O’Kelley that he forced his counterpart into a timeout with four seconds on the shot clock on one Wake possession. The Deacs airballed the ensuing shot, which led to a Carlos Boozer dunk and free throw at the other end to tie the game at 77-all.

After a Mike Dunleavy free throw, Williams scored off the dribble to put Duke up 80-77. Wake called for time and set up its final play, and the defense afterward.

O’Kelley took a handoff from Broderick Hicks and swished the 3. Williams raced the ball the other way, got hit at the free-throw line and dished back to Duhon.

“It was really for Jason to get the last shot, but he pushed it up so quickly everyone went to him. Luckily he found me next to him,”Duhon said. “I took one dribble, got around (Hicks)and took the shot.

“I felt it as soon as I let it go. When it was still in the air I heard the buzzer go off, so that was a relief for me.”

Wake’s players milled around the court over the stunning turn of events, then finally headed back to a quiet locker room.

“We knew they were going to come back at us. I thought we gave a great defensive effort,”O’Kelley said. “But the guy hit a leaner shot, a great shot, and it went in”

Williams, who scored a game-high 26 points despite a calf injury early in the second half, disagreed — jokingly — with O’Kelley’s assessment.

“I don’t know if it was a great shot,”Williams said with a laugh. “But he got it off and it went in. One-legged floater, you gotta do what you gotta do to win the game.”

Duhon missed part of Saturday’s game due to injury as well. His head was slammed to the floor during a first-half melee for a loose ball, and he emerged from the pileup dazed and dizzy.

Wake, ranked 24th in the nation, built a six-point lead in the opening minutes on Vidauarreta’s hot shooting. The margin increased to seven after Krzyzewski got a technical foul for arguing a non-call that sent Dunleavy to the floor.

The fired-up BlueDevils responded with Battier and Williams 3-pointers and actually ended the half ahead 41-40 after a Nate James layup at the buzzer.

“We knew if we were going to win the basketball game, we would have to play our best game all year,”Wake head coach Dave Odom said. “The team exerted itself today and no coach can ask for more.”

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NOTES: Wake turned the ball over just nine times, but had an astonishing lapse with 1:16 to play. Hicks brought the ball up court too slowly, against no pressure, and was whistled for a 10-second violation. “I can’t blame Broderick Hicks because I didn’t realize it myself,”said Odom, who was calling a play. “He was looking to me for direction. Lay that one on me.” … Wake must win next Sunday at N.C. State to break even in the ACC. Duke battles Maryland on Tuesday, then closes the season Sunday in the North Carolina rematch.