No. 8 Duke bounces back, rips BC 79-59
January 14, 2010
DURHAM, N.C. (AP)—Nolan Smith scored 24 points to help eighth-ranked Dukebounce back from a weekend loss and beat Boston College 79-59 on Wednesdaynight.
Kyle Singler added 15 points for the Blue Devils (14-2, 2-1 Atlantic CoastConference), who pushed ahead for good late in the first half and pulled away inthe opening minutes after the break.
Reggie Jackson scored 20 points for the Eagles (10-7, 1-2), but he was BC’sonly double-figure scorer.
While Boston College held up through the first 15 minutes or so, the BlueDevils’ pressure defense finally started to make a difference late in the firsthalf. Duke held Boston College without a field goal for nearly eight minutes andused a 15-3 run to turn a two-point deficit late in the half into a 46-35 edgeon Singler’s alley-oop dunk off a feed from Smith with 17:30 left in the game.
The lead reached 54-37 before Tyler Roche ended the drought with a runnerwith 14:40 to play, then grew steadily from there.
Smith matched his career high for scoring, while Singler bounced back from amiserable day against Georgia Tech by finishing with 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8junior had just nine points on 2-for-13 shooting in a 71-67 loss to the YellowJackets on Saturday.
The biggest disappointment for Duke, however, was that it repeated its pooroutside shooting from the Georgia Tech loss. The Blue Devils shot a season-low21 percent (6 for 28) from 3-point range in Atlanta, then followed by going just1 for 12 against Boston College.
And with leading scorer Jon Scheyer not having a strong shooting night, thetraditionally perimeter-oriented Blue Devils dominated the paint to takecontrol.
Sophomore Miles Plumlee had 12 points, while 7-foot senior Brian Zoubekadded six points and 11 rebounds—with almost all of that coming in the secondhalf. Duke also had 21 second-chance points and took a 40-27 edge on the glass.
As for Boston College, well, everything just got worse the longer the gamewore on.
The Eagles looked unfazed early in rowdy Cameron Indoor Stadium. They shot50 percent in the first half and played with poise, getting several open lookson kickouts off dribble penetration and trailing just 38-35 at halftime.
But the Eagles shot just 8 for 22 (36 percent) after halftime. They alsobegan committing turnovers to give the Blue Devils the transition opportunitiesthey needed to pull away.
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