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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
HONOLULU (AP) -- Oregon slipped its way past No. 19 Wake Forest.
Alex Scales hit an off-balance, double-pump shot from the left
side of the key with 4.7 seconds left, giving the Ducks (7-1) a
67-66 victory over No. 19 Wake Forest on Tuesday night in the
opening round of the Rainbow Classic.
|  | | Wake Forest's Niki Arinze scored 14 points, but it wasn't enough to save the Demon Deacons. |
"I slipped," Scales said of his game-winning shot. "I was
focusing on the release and keeping it up there. And then it went
through. It's a blessing from the sky."
He said he came off a curl and his left foot slipped while going
up for the shot.
"I was about to fall sideways," said Scales, who had 26
points. "It wasn't planned."
It was a disappointing loss for the Demon Deacons (8-2), the
only ranked team in the tournament. They drop to the loser's
bracket and will face Ohio, an 83-55 loser to Gonzaga.
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said he was not disheartened.
"We lost the game only on the won-loss ledge," he said.
"Oregon won the game. They deserve it. I don't have any problem
with that. But I don't feel that the game hurt us in any way."
Odom said the key wasn't so much Scales' game-winner, but a
couple of other Oregon shots that did in the Demon Deacons.
"They bank the 3-pointer (Scales) which hurt us and A.D. Smith
misses a free throw and it goes halfway to Maui and it drops in,"
Odom said.
"That's what really decided the game, more than the last shot.
It hurts us doubly bad because it's the second game we've lost like
that this season."
In the frantic final seconds, Robert O'Kelley stole the ball on
an inbounds play and scored with 16 seconds left to give Wake
Forest a 66-65 lead and set the stage for Scales' game-winner.
With Scales putting on a dunk spectacular, the Ducks rallied
from an eight-point deficit to take the lead for the first time in
the second half.
Scales touched off a 13-6 run with two dunks and a reverse
layup.
Then, in a span of six minutes, the teams exchanged leads seven
times before Scales' 3-pointer and a basket by Frederick Jones gave
the Ducks a 61-56 lead with 2:36 remaining.
Wake Forest got within three, but Smith scored on a follow shot
and added two free throws to give Oregon some breathing room.
O'Kelley made the front end of a 1-and-1 and Josh Shoemaker
followed with a basket to cut it to 65-64.
O'Kelley finished with 20 points for Wake Forest, which led
38-32 at halftime.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Oregon Clubhouse
Wake Forest Clubhouse
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