Duke defeats a Very Determined Davidson, 79-73

Charlotte: Davidson kept rallying from double-digit deficits, giving No. 7 Duke a rare close game.

But the Wildcats don't have athletes like Gerald Henderson.

In one of his best games this season, Henderson had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Greg Paulus had 2 key baskets and a steal in the final 2 minutes, as the Blue Devils climb to 8-0 by beating Davidson, an impressive mid-major, 79-73.

''I thought Henderson was the difference, both offensively and defensively,'' Coach K said. ''He had 21 points, but he had 3 really big blocks, 2 in the second half. You just don't teach that.''

Jon Scheyer scored 15 points and Kyle Singler added 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-0), who needed big plays from Henderson to extend their winning streak over Davidson to 21 straight.

Duke eventually wore down the Wildcats, using a wave of players and superior athleticism led by Henderson, who shot 8-for-17 and made 4-of-5 free throws.

''We got a lead where it was hard for them to come back at the end,'' Henderson said. ''They hit a few shots in the last couple of minutes, but it just wasn't enough. We did our work before that. I'm proud of the guys. This is a good win for us.''

Davidson (3-3), which took top-ranked North Carolina to the wire just over two weeks ago, rallied from down 16 in the first half and 12 with 5 minutes to play, getting within 70-65 with 2:37 left.

Paulus, who scored 11 points, then hit a 3-pointer. After Stephen Curry hit a 3 at the other end, Paulus' baseline fadeaway with 32 seconds left gave Duke a 75-68 lead.

Paulus then stole the ball from Jason Richards , and Duke held on with Henderson's two free throws with 5.3 seconds left putting it away.

Curry scored 20 points despite playing the final 12 minutes with four fouls, and Richards added 14 points and 11 assists for Davidson.

And poor shooting did them in, again, in the Wildcats' 23rd straight loss to a ranked team. Davidson hit eight of 24 3s, they also missed 7 of 12 free throws.

Davidson will get another chance to knock off a heavyweight next week, when it plays No. 2 UCLA.

Duke won its first 7 games by an average of 15 points, including an 82-58 rout of No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday. But despite being far more athletic, the Blue Devils never got comfortable against Davidson, which won a school-record 29 games last season before losing to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Duke, though, was able to hit 11 3-pointers to offset 16 turnovers and win its 42nd straight game against Southern Conference teams.

--Rankings prediction, Duke will move up one to 6th, UNC will reclaim the top spot on another lack-luster performance against another unrated team. Regardless of whether or not UCLA beats 8th ranked Texas, the tarholes will be on top because they're UNC.