Duke Shuts Down GT, 71-58

Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson both scored 15 pts as #6 Duke beat Georgia Tech 71-58 to move into a first-place tie in the Atlantic Coast Conference with rival North Carolina.

Kyle Singler added 13 and Greg Paulus had 11 to help the Blue Devils (24-3, 11-2) improve to 15-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

Matt Causey and Gani Lawal had 10 points each to lead the Yellow Jackets (11-15, 4-8), who lost their fifth straight and were denied their first victory at Cameron since 2004. Duke has won 10 of the past 11 meetings here.

Georgia Tech's leading scorer, Anthony Morrow - who entered averaging 14.3 points - was held to nine on 4-of-9 shooting.

Duke never trailed in the second half and led by double figures for most of the way, but the Yellow Jackets briefly made things interesting when Morrow's 3 with 2:40 remaining pulled them to 65-57. About 30 seconds later, Nelson threw a bounce pass to Hendo, who finished the layup that restored their double-figure advantage.

The perimeter-oriented Blue Devils led 33-27 at halftime despite some horrible shooting from the outside. Duke, a 39 percent shooting team from 3-point range, made just two jump shots in the half and was 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Duke missed 12 of its first 13 attempts from 3-point range before Paulus connected from the key with 9 minutes to play to give the Blue Devils a 56-44 lead. They finished just 2-of-15 from long range.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech had serious trouble getting to the free-throw line. The Yellow Jackets didn't attempt a foul shot until Causey sank two with 9½ minutes left after he was hammered by Paulus while driving, and finished 7-of-11 from the line.

Duke Re-awakens, Routs St Johns 86-56

Brian Zoubek recorded a double-double and Kyle Singler led five double-figure scorers with 16 points as #5 Duke routed St. John's 86-56 to get the program back on track.

Gerald Henderson and Nolan Smith scored 13 each for the Blue Devils (23-3), who overwhelmed the Red Storm with a 32-9 run late in the first half and cruised to their NCAA-leading 59th straight non-conf victory at Cameron.

Jon Scheyer added 12 points in his first start of the season and Zoubek had 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Duke, which showed none of the ballhandling or defensive problems that plagued Coach K's team in losses at Wake and Miami.

Instead, the Blue Devils got things clicking again at the expense of a young St. John's team that has eight freshmen in the rotation. Duke, which allowed an average of 91 points in the two defeats, forced the Big East's worst offense into 18 turnovers, limited it to 3-of-13 shooting from 3-point range and held it to two field goals during a 9½-minute first-half stretch.

Anthony Mason Jr., who leads the Red Storm (10-16) with a 15.2-point average, was held to four on 2-of-11 shooting. Freshman D.J. Kennedy had 16 points to lead the Red Storm, the last non-Atlantic Coast Conference team to win at Cameron.

Scheyer, a starter in 2006-07 who has flourished in his sophomore season as Duke's sixth man, replaced Henderson in the lineup. Henderson played with a brace protecting his injured right wrist, and Krzyzewski said on his pre-game radio show that the sophomore guard will require surgery on it after the season.

Scheyer scored 12 points during the decisive run, and Singler bookended it. He started the burst with a 3-pointer from the left wing midway through the half that made it 18-16 and put the Blue Devils ahead to stay, then capped it with a layup from Smith that pushed the lead to 47-25 1:06 before the break.

Miami Knocks Off Duke, 96-95

Somewhere in Winston Salem, Duke lost it's Mojo.. Tonight in Miami, they found it, after waking up and finding themselves at center court with 13 minutes to go and down by 20, they rallied back to within one. Maybe now the Duke squad finally has its shit together.. and can hold it together for the rest of the season and make a great tourney run..

Duke outscored Miami 56-37 over the last 12:47 of the game but it wasn't enough to pull off the comeback as the #4 Blue Devils fell to the Hurricanes, 96-95. Duke loses its second straight game and falls to 22-3 overall and 10-2 in the ACC while the 'Canes improve to 18-7 and 5-6.

Duke struggled on defense and turnovers. The Blue Devils gave up a season high 22 turnovers Sunday at Wake Forest and surpassed that with 23 tonight while the Demon Deacons scored a Duke opponent high 86 points Sunday only to be bested by 10 points by the Hurricanes.

Down 59-39 with 12:47 left, Duke put on a furious rally, scoring 56 points while shooting 17-of-28 from the field, 9-of-16 from three and 13-of-18 from the line over that time frame, but also gave up 37 points to fall a point short. Jon Scheyer scored 22 of his career high 27 points in the last 12:47 and DeMarcus Nelson scored 14 of his 19 in that time frame, as well, including seven in the last 35 seconds.

The beginning of the second half was all Miami and after Kyle Singler hit a three-pointer 45 seconds into the half, Miami would outscore Duke 15-0 over the next six and a half minutes and build the lead to 59-39.

Duke's comeback started with five quick points from Scheyer seven seconds apart to cut the lead to 59-44. A Nelson three cut the lead to 14 at 63-49 before Miami built the lead back to 16 at 67-51 with 9:45 left. Duke kept scoring but couldn't stop Miami, either, and finally cut the lead to 10 at 82-72 with a three from Gerald Henderson at the 3:45 mark.

Scheyer hit a three to cut the lead to 7 at 82-75 before McClinton hit two frees to make it 9-up. Greg Paulus hit a three and Nelson connected on a layup in between a McClinton jumper to cut the lead to six at 86-80 with 2:26 remaining. Miami pushed the lead back to 8 twice and yada, yada, Nelson hit a three at the buzzer for the final score of 96-95.

"We're going to turn this thing back around," Nelson said. "We've been too good all year to have whatever it is holding us back as a team. We're definitely going to find out what it is and address it.
Our season is not going on a downward spiral."

Wake WIns Big, 86-73, As Duke Starters Foul Out

All five starters fouled out for the first time in school history as the #2 Duke Blue Devils lost their second game of the season, 86-73 against Wake Forest on their turf.

The Blue Devils fall to 22-2 on the season and still remain atop the ACC standings with a 10-1 league record while the Demon Deacons improve to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in the league.

It marked the fifth time in Duke history that five players have fouled out, but the first time it was all five starters. Duke had five players foul out at Maryland on Feb. 12, 2005, and here at Wake Forest on Feb. 13, 2003, under Coach K and twice against North Carolina in the 1950s and '60s.

Nolan Smith led the way for Duke off the bench with 21 points and he was the Blue Devils go-to player down the stretch. He connected on 8-of-12 from the field and had a pair of 3's. DeMarcus Nelson scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half while Kyle Singler scored 17 points for the Blue Devils.

Smith scored the Blue Devils final seven points as the Blue Devils pulled within six at 76-70 with 2:36 remaining and again at 78-72 with 1:48 left, both off of lay-ups from Smith. Duke then had a pair of misses and six straight free throws from the Demon Deacons put the game into double digits at 84-72.

Wake started strong out of the gate, connecting on four quick 3's and storming out to a 19-12 lead just over six minutes in. The Blue Devils were giving up less than four threes per game in ACC play. Duke chipped away at the lead and a Nelson lay-up with 9:13 remaining in the first half gave Duke its first lead at 25-24. The teams played the remainder of the first half close with neither team getting more than a four point lead until Jamie Skeen's tip-in as the first half clock expired, giving the Deacs a 47-42 lead at the break.

After L.D. Williams had a monster dunk and three pointer on back-to-back possessions, Wake Forest opened up a 52-44 lead just three minute into the second half. Duke responded with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to go up 55-52. A Smith three and Singler layup gave Duke a 60-55 lead at the 11:22 mark but the Blue Devils offense dried up and they wouldn't hit another field goal for more than seven minutes and were outscored 17-3 during that run. Greg Paulus hit a three-pointer to pull Duke within six at 72-66 before Smith's final seven points.

Great game for Wake, and a great effort by Duke, the buckets just stopped falling. Duke couldnt buy a basket late in the 2nd half, at the other end it was buy one get one free for WF.

Duke will look to rebound when it travels to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on the Miami Hurricanes Wednesday night in a 9 pm. tipoff. Duke then returns home for the final non-conference game of the year as St. John's travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium next Saturday at 4 pm.

Duke Sweeps Maryland, 77-65

Kyle Singler is doing just about everything for Duke -- except playing like a freshman.

Singler scored a season-high 26 points and sparked the decisive run that helped the Blue Devils withstand Maryland's comeback attempt and beat the Terrapins 77-65 for their 12th straight win.

"He can shoot, defend, pass -- he's a winner," Coach K said. "He's got it all, and it's all just a matter of getting the physical maturity there. He's still a young body, but he's not a young heart, nor a young mind. He's big-time in both those areas."

Duke's top rookie also established career highs with 10 field goals and six 3s, reaching 20 points for the fourth time this season and taking 17 shots while showing none of the hesitation that occasionally plagues freshmen as they adjust to the pace of Division I.

"I'm a lot more comfortable out on the court, seeing more things," Singler said. "Whether it's through practice, the game's slowing down and I'm picking up my shots, picking up my reads a lot quicker."

Greg Paulus added 20 points for the Blue Devils (22-1, 10-0 ACC), who blew most of a 16-point lead but used a late 11-2 run to snap Maryland's four-game winning streak.


Maryland's Vasquez scored 25 points to lead the Terrapins (16-9, 6-4), who were denied a second victory on Tobacco Road this season after they went to nearby Chapel Hill and beat down North Carolina last month.

"They're a good team, but the season isn't over for us," Vasquez said. "We've got the ACC tournament, and that's the good thing about sports -- you get another chance."

James Gist -- who averaged 22 points over the last six games -- was held to nine on 3-of-11 shooting, although he did have 10 rebounds.

"We cannot take everything away from everybody -- from anybody, probably," Krzyzewski said. "But we did enough, and then used some of our mismatches where we got a little bit more, and then we won. That's what we've got to do."

Singler's started Duke's game-deciding run when, after Maryland closed within two points with less than 8 minutes left, he drove the left baseline for a layup to make it 59-55.

"He's too good -- you can't make mistakes," Williams said. "That's why he's considered one of the best freshmen in the country."

Two possessions later, he swished a 3 from the left wing and later added a fast-break dunk, before Jon Scheyer's drive past Gist through the lane with 4:08 remaining gave the Blue Devils a 68-57 lead.

"We just spread the floor out, see mismatches and execute for whomever has the mismatches," Singler said. "Jon had Gist on him one time, took him to the hoop and that was the play that sealed the game."

Singler, Nelson Lift Duke Over BC, 90-80

The Frosh and the Senior combine to power Duke over Boston College, 90-80. With 24 pts and 10 boards from Kyle Singler, along with DeMarcus Nelson adding 23 as #2 Duke shook off some early uninspired play and extended its winning streak to 11.

"I was more worried about this game than UNC," Coach K said. "Not that I was sure we were going to win on Wednesday, but I was sure we'd be ready, sure that we were going to be there. This one, the last two days I've been on them like crazy. We just weren't sharp."

The Blue Devils (21-1, 9-0 ACC), turned 21 BC turnovers into 21 points and overcame a huge game from Tyrese Rice with a late 17-2 run.

Rice, the ACC's second-leading scorer, scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half for the Eagles (12-10, 3-6), the second straight game usually stingy Duke has allowed a 28-point scorer.

"He had the ball in his hands at all times," Nelson said of Rice. "He has the freedom at any time to create, and he can create. He's great off the dribble in creating shots, and he's crafty. He was hitting shots, and we didn't do a good job of defending him, myself included. We changed that in the second half."

Still, Boston College gave Duke its tightest game of the season in its notoriously noisy arena. The Blue Devils entered having won their previous 11 home games by an average of 27 1/2 points, with their prior closest game a 93-80 victory against Clemson.

"People have to come against us because we've had a lead," Coach K said. "It hasn't necessarily been a huge lead, sometimes it's been double digits, and we're able to dictate how the last few minutes of the game has been played. If we can do that, it lends itself to us winning."

Duke couldn't pull away in this one until midway through the second half, when Singler bookended the decisive run with 3-pointers from the same area of the court.

First, he put the Blue Devils ahead to stay and started the run with a 3 from the left corner to make it 66-65 at the 9:11 mark. Then, after Nelson's 3 from the opposite corner with 6:30 to play pushed it to 77-67 -- Duke's first double-figure lead -- Singler converted 35 seconds later from the left corner to give the Blue Devils a 13-point advantage.

Jon Scheyer added 11 points for the Blue Devils, who are on their longest winning streak in ACC play since the Redick/Williams led 2005-06 team started the conference schedule 14-0.

"We come into every game expecting to win, and collectively as a group, we share something," Singler said. "We wanted to run through the ACC and win it, and to do that, we can't lose to teams."

Duke Dominates Entire Game Against UNC , 89-78

Greg Paulus scored 18 pts and was one of 6 Duke players in double figures in the #2 Blue Devils' 89-78 domination over #3 Tarholes.

Jon Scheyer added 17 for Duke (20-1, 8-0 ACC), which repeatedly knocked down 3's to control the game the entire way. Duke led by as many as 11 points in the first half and never trailed after the break, beating the whining, pissing and moaning, short-handed Tar Heels on their first meeting of the season.

Picked to finish second in the ACC, the Blue Devils were figured to be too small up front to contend with the over-inflated, over-rated and media favored Tar Heels this year. Yet behind a spread-the-floor attack that creates matchup problems all over the court, Duke is alone atop the league and looking like a good bet to win the regular-season race, if not the Big Dance.

"They're pretty special right now," Blue Devils Coach K said. "We know who we are. We're a very unconventional team. We're not a strong physical team, but we are strong team emotionally, a real together group".

Duke shot 46% and went 13-for-29 from 3 range, with Paulus going 6 of 8 from behind the arc. That was just too much on the perimeter for the Tarholes (21-2, 6-2), who played without injured point guard Ty Lawson and seemed like they had to fight the entire way just to stay within reach.

"We definitely drove the ball and got a couple good penetrate and kicks," Paulus said. "I'm not sure what we shot, but it seemed like whenever we needed a 3, we had guys who took big shots and knocked them down."

Tyler Hansbrough had 4 flops, 28 points and 18 boards in what became a one-man effort, as the Holes looked a step off all night with Lawson crying from the bench after spraining his left ankle in the weekend OT win at Florida State.

"We're looking to take over this league," said Gerald Henderson, who had 12 points for the Blue Devils. "We hope that we can continue to play like this and win like this. ... We just want to continue to add in the left side of the column."

It was a surprisingly one-sided outcome in a rivalry that drew plenty of notable onlookers, including former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

Wayne Ellington, had a miserable shooting night, finishing with a paltry 8 pts on 3 of 14 shooting, including 0/6 on 3 pt attempts. That included a huge miss late on a 3 that looked good until it rattled around the rim and rolled out with the Tar Heels trailing 78-70 with 2:43 left, causing more crying and whining from the crowd.

UNC shot a weak 41% for the game, including an anemic 17% hitting only 3 of 17 from 3 land. A horrendous showing in front of their rabid fans, all 21,750 crying, whining and sobbing as the Tarholes were destroyed in their home den by the multi-faceted and talented Duke Team.

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, did exactly what they needed to do. They repeatedly forced open looks off penetration and kickouts. Paulus was the biggest beneficiary, hitting his first five 3-pointers. But, unlike Hansborrow, he had a talented team behind him.

Frosh Kyle Singler had 14 pts and 10 boards, and DeMarcus Nelson had 13 pts with 4 boards and 5 assists. Duke also got a boost inside from Lance Thomas, who had 10 points and five rebounds while battling North Carolina's bigger front line all night.

"They got any shot they wanted," Tarhole coach Williams said. "I don't know very many times tonight that our (weak) defense dictated what shot they got. They had better spacing, more patience."

The arrogant and putrid UNC fans proved they collectively don't have an ounce of class in them by holding up 'wanted' posters of Duke Star Gerald Henderson, captioned "Wanted for assault, battery and public deuchebaggery". This following the 'Go back to the Ghetto' remark made by a despicable female UNC fan to Maryland players after suffering an embarrassing defeat on their home court, proves they are utterly classless and filled with hatred. Something that UNC fans surely can't be proud of.

They said bring it, it was brought.. The superior team won, period.

Paulus, Nelson Fuel Duke Win Over Miami, 88-73

DeMarcus Nelson scored 19 of his 21 pts in the second half to lead #3 Duke past Miami, 88-73.

Greg Paulus scored 16 pts for the Blue Devils (19-1, 7-0 ACC), who won their ninth straight by scoring on nine of their first 10 possessions of the second half.

James Dews scored 15 for Miami (15-6, 2-5), who have lost two straight and five of six, but kept things tight for most of the first half.

After the break, Nelson took over. The Duke captain scored 10 pts during a dominating 3-minute stretch early in the half, starting the scoring with a steal and a fastbreak layup the first time the Blue Devils had the ball and later hitting field goals on four straight possessions.

Nelson's follow-up of Paulus' missed 3-pointer with 17 minutes left started a 17-6 run that pushed Duke's lead into double figures to stay. Kyle Singler knocked down 3s roughly a minute apart during the spurt, and fellow freshman Taylor King capped it with a 3 from the right wing to make it 62-44 with 13 minutes remaining.

Miami couldn't get closer than 10 the rest of the way and lost for the 10th straight time in the series, falling to 0-5 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Singler finished with 14 points for Duke, which held a surprising 41-36 rebounding advantage and overcame poor first half shooting performance.

Nelson led the ACC's best perimeter defense in hounding McClinton, the league's top 3-point shooter. McClinton was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc — just the second time all season he was held without a 3.

Now, Coach K and the Team can devote its full attention to perhaps the biggest rivalry in college basketball — and dealing a cross-town rivalry ass-kicking to the Tarholez.

Paulus and Duke Overwhelm the 'Pack 92-72

For the second straight game, Duke trailed by nine points at halftime. Just as before, the #3 Blue Devils knew how to respond.

Greg Paulus scored 22 points and freshman Kyle Singler added 19 to help Duke push past NC State 92-72, keeping the Blue Devils alone atop the ACC standings.

Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson each had 18 points for Duke (18-1, 6-0 ACC), who ran into an unexpectedly tough opponent in the first half before turning up their intensity to dominate the rest of the way.

In fact, the Blue Devils made this one look like Sunday's win at Maryland. In that game, Duke allowed Maryland to shoot 62 percent in the first half to build a 51-42 lead at the break before rallying for a 93-84 win.

This time, Duke shook off a spirited effort by Gavin Grant and the Wolfpack (13-7, 2-4), erasing a 46-37 deficit to overwhelm its nearby rival.

"You can't play too much better than we did in the second half," Coach K said.

Indeed. Duke shot 21-for-32 (66 percent) from the field and hit 7 of 11 3-pointers in the second half while allowing the Wolfpack just 18 field-goal attempts after the break. The Blue Devils also took a 19-7 edge on the boards in the half.

As a result, Duke outscored N.C. State 55-26 in the final 20 minutes.