SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Suddenly, the game changed.
Wake Forest senior Craig Dawson was setting a pick on Oregon senior Freddie Jones when Jones fought his way through it.
There was contact made, and Jones could recognize pain in Dawson’s voice.
“I don’t know exactly what happened,” Jones said. “I just heard him scream that he was hurt. My feelings go out to him.”
Dawson, who had 20 points at the time, suffered a dislocated left shoulder and immediately walked off the court. He did not return. The incident occurred with Wake Forest leading Oregon, 78-73, with eight minutes to play.
The moment Dawson left the court, Oregon’s Luke Jackson drilled a three that was followed by an emphatic two-hand rebound slam from Jones.
Those two plays sent energy throughout the Arco Arena crowd as the Ducks went on to beat the Demon Deacons, 92-87, Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
“Losing Craig was hard,” Wake Forest guard Taron Downey said. “He is a great outside shooter.”
Dawson was lights out for much of the game. He connected on 5-of-8 three-pointers and played a big part in Wake Forest’s 14-0 first half run that put the Demon Deacons on top, 36-25.
Not having Dawson at the end of the game was obviously a big blow, but the Demon Deacons (21-13) never went away down the stretch. Wake Forest trailed for the first time, 80-78, since a 25-24 first half lead. The Demon Deacons reclaimed the advantage after Jamaal Levy scored two of his 10 points for the slim 83-82 lead, but that would be the last time Wake Forest would have the advantage.
On the next play down, Oregon’s Luke Ridnour stopped, popped, shot and scored a three-pointer to take a two-point lead.
Wake Forest had a relatively easy look at the basket to tie in the final minute, but Darius Songaila missed a contested layin, and the Demon Deacons were forced to play the free throw game from there on out in a losing effort.
“I give all the credit to Oregon,” Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser said. “We played well, but Oregon played better.”
In addition to Dawson, other scoring contributors included Songaila with 19 points, Antwan Scott with 13 and Downey with 11.
But one of the real keys in this game was Wake Forest’s inability to contain the Oregon perimeter game. Jackson scored a game-high 29, Ridnour scored a career-high 28 and Jones finished up with 24.
“Those three kids — we couldn’t slow them down, much less stop them,” Prosser said.
Oregon had a tough time stopping Dawson until the shoulder separation forced the senior to walk off the court for the last time as a Demon Deacon.
“Craig does a lot for that team,” Jones said. “I’m sure once he left the floor, it kind of took a little out of them. They did not have him to go to.”
Dawson’s absence certainly had a pivotal effect on the game and was probably the deciding factor on his team earning a trip to Madison, Wis., for the Sweet 16, or one back home to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with its season now complete.
“Some games you run out of time,” Prosser said. “To a degree in this game, we ran out of players.”