WRAL Sports Fan

College Basketball

Scheyer Keys Duke's 70-57 Win Over Florida State

By Jamey Givens

Jan 17, 2008

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Although Duke might be lacking the experience and star power it has had in recent years, there is no doubt that this year's Blue Devils make up for it in depth.

Playing in a hostile environment, against a Florida State team with four expereinced guards, Duke's talented youth and seasoned veterans were too much for the Seminoles.

Jon Scheyer put Florida State on the ropes with 16 first half points, and Greg Paulus and Kyle Singler provided the knock out punch as Duke escaped with a 70-57 win over the Seminoles on Wednesday night.

Duke, which led by as many as 17 in the first half, found themselves down one with just over three minutes to play. The Seminoles had all of the momentum, and their home crowd in a frenzy. But Kyle Singler calmly knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 57-55 lead, and Florida State didn't threaten again.

"Kyle got an open three and that was the biggest shot of the ballgame," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

The Blue Devils outscored the Seminoles 16-2 down the stretch, and made all eight of their free throw attempts in the final two minutes. Paulus and DeMarcus Nelson were held in check for most of the night, but after watching the Scheyer and Singler hit big shots in big points, the two upperclassmen both made big plays to seal the win. A Paulus steal and fast break lay-up put Duke up five, and Nelson's two free throws pushed the lead to seven.

"Different players stepped up in different stretches," said Paulus, who scored nine second half points after being shutout in the first half.

For a while Wednesday night, it didn't look like it would be that close. Florida State cut the Blue Devils' lead to one at the 11:04 mark, but Duke took control of the game in a hurry. Led by Scheyer, the Blue Devils rattled off 16 straight points to take a 30-13 lead. Scheyer scored eight of the points, including two 3-pointers, and Duke's defense held the Seminoles without a field goal for seven minutes.

"I thought we lost our poise," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "You can't afford to waste possessions against a team of Duke's caliber."

Florida State forward Jason Rich, who scored all 18 of his points in the second half, pointed to Singler's shot as the difference.

"That kind of slowed our momentum down," Rich said before correcting himself. "It actually stopped it. Next thing you know it's 60-55 and then they could run the clock down."

The Seminoles spent most of the second half digging themselves out of the 17 point hole. Although they came close several times, Duke found a way to get a stop, or make a tough shot to keep the lead.

"They made a couple good runs, but we were able to fight them off," Paulus said.