WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Chris Paul was a high school senior sitting in the stands when Wake Forest beat Duke in double overtime last year. He celebrated by grabbing a friend and rushing onto the court.

This year he was already there, right in the middle of a mob eager to honor him for helping the 15th-ranked Demon Deacons upend No. 3 Duke, 90-84, Wednesday night.

“Last year was something I will never forget,” Paul said. “But it feels a whole lot better to be in a uniform for it. At first I kind of stepped aside when the fans came rushing out, then I jumped right into the party.”

After scoring 12 of his 23 points during the final 5:10, Paul was the honored guest.

In a testy game that came down to the final seconds, Paul — a fearless freshman — carried the Demon Deacons (16-6, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

He scored 19 points in the second half as Wake Forest overcame a 13-point deficit. He added eight assists and kept his teammates calm as Duke (21-3, 10-2) tried to pull it out.

But Paul capped his scoring with a pair of free throws with 6.5 seconds left to seal the win.

“Your point guard is your quarterback. If the quarterback doesn’t play well, you have no chance,” coach Skip Prosser said. “He plays with great courage. I think his courage is contagious, and his teammates feed off that.”

No. 2 St. Joseph’s 72, Fordham 54

New York — Jameer Nelson had 18 points and nine assists to lead St. Joseph’s. The Hawks (23-0, 12-0 Atlantic 10) and No. 1 Stanford (21-0) are the only unbeaten teams in Division One, and the Hawks made sure they stayed that way with a 33-4 run bridging halftime. It was the 10th time in the last 12 games Saint Joseph’s won by at least 10 points.

No. 6 Gonzaga 79, Portland 69

Spokane, Wash. — On a night when alumnus John Stockton had his number retired, Gonzaga rode 19 points and nine rebounds from Ronny Turiaf to victory. Gonzaga (22-2, 12-0 West Coast Conference) set a school record with its 15th consecutive win.

No. 8 Connecticut 76, Miami 63

Hartford, Conn. — Emeka Okafor had 18 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots. Rashad Anderson paced the Huskies (20-5, 8-3 Big East) with 19 points, and Taliek Brown finished with a career-high 13 assists.

No. 9 Kentucky 73, Arkansas 56

Lexington, Ky. — Erik Daniels scored 21 points, and Kentucky posted its most lopsided win in Southeastern Conference play this season. Kentucky (18-4, 8-3) scored the game’s first nine points, seven by Kelenna Azubuike, and never trailed.

Illinois 65,

No. 12 Wisconsin 57

Champaign, Ill. — Deron Williams scored 31 points, and Illinois overcame cold first-half shooting. Williams was 5-of-9 from three-point range to lead the Illini (17-5, 8-3 Big Ten) to their fifth straight win and avenge a 76-56 loss to the Badgers on Jan. 24. He finished 9-of-18 from the field and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Clemson 60,

No. 13 N.C. State 55

Clemson, S.C. — Clemson ended North Carolina State’s five-game winning streak — and possibly the Wolfpack’s bid for an Atlantic Coast Conference title. North Carolina State (16-6, 9-3 ACC) shot 52 percent to beat then No. 1 Duke on Sunday and move a game behind the Blue Devils in the conference standings. But instead of a fired-up club out to grab a championship, the Wolfpack were off-target and out of synch.

UAB 80,

No. 17 Cincinnati 69

Birmingham, Ala. — Mo Finley had 13 points, and Ronell Taylor added 12 in just 17 minutes to spark UAB’s shocker. The Blazers (16-6, 9-2 Conference USA) moved into a tie with idle Memphis atop the league standings leading up to Saturday’s meeting. Cincinnati (17-5, 8-3) lost for the fourth time in six games. The Bearcats held an 8-0 lead, then fell behind and made only a brief comeback attempt.

No. 20 S. Illinois 84, Evansville 69

Evansville, Ind. — Southern Illinois (21-2, 15-0) clinched its third straight Missouri Valley Conference title with its 13th consecutive victory. Southern Illinois’ 13-game winning streak is the school’s longest since the 1966-67 team, led by Walt Frazier. That team won its last 19 games in finishing 24-2 and taking the National Invitation Tournament title.

Auburn 80,

No. 24 LSU 68

Baton Rouge, La. — Ian Young scored 21 points, and Marco Killingsworth added 20 against the SEC’s best defense. It was the most points the Tigers (17-5, 7-7), ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Conference scoring defense, have given up all year.