Wake Forest University
Charleston Southern
Deacons Overwhelm Charleston Southern 87-47
12/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2005
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser refers to Shamaine Dukes by the freshman's preferred nickname only when Dukes plays well.
That's why Prosser will have to call him "Joe" for the next few days - at least.
Dukes had 11 points and tied the school's freshman record with 10 assists in his first start to lead No. 22 Wake Forest past Charleston Southern 87-47 on Friday night, a strong debut for the latest player trying to help the team replace departed All-America point guard Chris Paul.
Justin Gray added 17 points for the Demon Deacons (10-2), who had no trouble winning their third straight game.
Eleven players scored for Wake Forest, which shot 56 percent and had a 45-35 edge on the boards. The Demon Deacons also held the Buccaneers (5-6) to 28 percent shooting, but their biggest highlight came with the performance of the 6-foot-1 Dukes.
Dukes had just one point on 0-for-6 shooting in 10 games, but Prosser went to him to spark the offense. That came after Wake Forest - one of the nation's highest-scoring teams in recent seasons - managed just 61 and 47 points, respectively, in wins over Princeton and Richmond.
"I watched a lot of tape today, trying to see what our opponents would do," Dukes said. "Coach said just to push the ball and play with some confidence, and do whatever it takes to win."
By the end of the game, Dukes had set a season-high for assists for a Wake Forest player. He went 4-for-7 from the field, including a run of eight straight points that gave the Demon Deacons a 72-29 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left.
He tallied his 10th assist on a transition jumper by Harvey Hale for a 78-29 lead with 5:38 left, tying the freshman assist mark shared by Paul (2003-04) and Derrick McQueen (1988-89).
"I told him before the game, 'If you turn the ball over the first four times touching it, just keep playing,"' said Gray, who hit five 3-pointers. "He did exactly what Coach wanted him to do - push the ball up the court."
Sure, Dukes' big day came against Charleston Southern - hardly the kind of stiff competition the Demon Deacons will get when they open Atlantic Coast Conference play here against top-ranked Duke on Jan. 8. But for a team that's still looking for a full-time replacement for Paul, any progress at the position is worth celebrating.
And all that had Prosser calling Dukes by the nickname his grandmother gave him growing up.
"When he does well, I call him Joe, when I'm not happy I call him Shamaine," Prosser said. "So he knows when I call his name what my mood is at a particular time.
"There will be other days he'll be back to Shamaine, but tonight he was Joe."
Dukes was the Demon Deacons' third starting point guard this year. Gray started the season with a career-high eight assists against Mississippi Valley State, but he struggled with 27 turnovers in the next three games.
Prosser then turned to Hale, giving Gray more time to display his all-conference form at shooting guard. But the freshman - who had started the past seven games - soon began to struggle and went scoreless in his last two games.
Dukes didn't waste any time rewarding Prosser for the move, finding Kyle Visser inside for the game's first basket 30 seconds in. Then, after finding Trent Strickland for a transition layup, Dukes connected with Gray for a 3-pointer and Eric Williams for another inside score that helped the Demon Deacons to a 13-5 lead in the first 3 minutes.
He followed that with a layup - his first field goal of the season - and three assists during a 12-0 run that put an early end to the contest. Dukes found Williams with a bounce pass in transition for a slam, then connected with Gray on a 3-pointer for the second time in four possessions that gave Wake Forest a 29-10 lead with 8:40 left.
"He just has a lot of poise with the ball," Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh said of Dukes. "He found open people, and he's very tough to keep in front of you. I like the way he plays."
The Demon Deacons turned in their third straight solid defensive effort. After allowing Princeton to shoot 34 percent and Richmond to shoot 26 percent, the Demon Deacons held the Buccaneers to 6-for-30 shooting in the first half and 17 field goals for the game.
Terrell Brown and Trent Drafts each had 10 points for the Buccaneers.
