Game Blog: Henderson nets 35 as Devils drop Deacs
Feb 23, 2009
Final Score, Duke 101 , Wake 91 - A great effort by Duke, as tey pick up a key ACC win. they now move into a 3-way tie for second place in the conference with Clemson and Florida State. Gerald Henderson was phenomonal tonight with 35 points. Wake played well in several areas, but those first half turnovers doomed them.
58.3 seconds to play, Duke 96, Wake 89- james Johnson just banked in a 3 from the elbow. Duke will have the ball, up 7 with under a minute to play. Wake still has a heartbeat, but they are on life support.
2:11 to play, Duke 96, Wake 84- OK Batman, Robin won't be outdone. After a Wake basket, Jon Scheyer steps up and drains a 3 as the shot clock is winding down. Things are starting to get a little chippy, as the refs had to step between Elliot illiams and Jeff Teague following the Scheyer make. Wake has to be frustrated, after having come back from such a deficit in the first half. It appears that ehy are going to come up short here tonigh. Time is not on their side.
2:52 to play, Duke 93, Wake 82- Gerald Henderson may have just delivered the dagger to put Wake Forest down for good. henderson hit a fadeaway 3 with ish Smith in his face to push the Duke lead back to double digits.
3:54 to play, Duke 88, Wake 80-Gerald henderson and Jon Scheyer are doing their best Batman and Robin impression tonight, as any time Wake makes a shot to close he gap, one or he other has an answer. henderson now has 30 points for the game, and Scheyer has 23. Lance Thomas had a big steal for Duke on the last Wake possession. henderson will be on the line when action resumes. Wake just has not been a ble to get stops when they need them. ven when Duke has missed shots, they have gotten putback baskets. Wake MUST clamp down on D if they are going to win this game.
7:58 to play, Duke 79, Wake 76- Duke is really looking to gerald henderson, and why not? H leads the way for them tonight with 27 points. he has been active on both ends of the floor. Wake is still shooting the ball very well, but they have been unable to get stops consistently over the last few minutes..
9:39 to play, Duke 75, Wake 71- A really great stretch of basketball by both teams. Big shot after big shot on both ends. Wake will get a score, and Duke will answer. The Deacs are taking much better care of the ball this half, but they must do a better job keeping Duke off of the offensive glass if they hope to take the lead.
15:31 to play, Duke 57, Wake 52-Good news for Wake Forest, as they seem o have settle down and are running their offensive sets. James Johnson is doing a good job getting to the rack. Looks like he can take Singler one-on-one. Duke has had a couple of turnovers themselves this half. Coach K has come out of his jacket, and is still very animated on the sideline.
Halftime, Duke 51, Wake 40- Wake did manage to cute what was one a 22-point Duke lead in half before the break. Wake committed 16 turnovers in the first half, which obviouslyhas limited the offensively. When the Deacs have managed to hang on to the ball, they have done some good things. They shot 60% from the floor, compared to Duke's 52%, and they outrebounded the Devils by 9. Wake simply can not turn the ball over at that rate and expect to mount a comeback. jeff teague found his stroke late in the half, but Duke has done a good job limiting his penetration by helping on him out high before he can make a move.
1:52 to play, 1st half Duke 50, Wake 36- it looks like Jeff Teague is taking it upon himself to bring Wake back. He is on a personal 8-point run that incuded two long three pointers, and Wake has managed to cut into Duke's lead. If the Deacs can manage to get the deficit to single digits before half, they will have to feel better aout themselves heading into the locker room.
6:06 to play, first half Duke 41, Wake 19- This looks like the Duke defense of old. The Devils are getting into the passing lanes, and are making it incredibly difficult for Wake to even cross midcourt. Gerald Henderson has been the beneficiary of the increased defensive intensity, as he has parlayed Wake's tunovers into 18 first half points. Cameron Indoor is rocking, and Wake is on the ropes here in the first half.
7:50 to play, 1st half Duke 29, Wake 19- It has definitely been an inspired effort by Duke to this point. They have done a good job keeping the ball out of Chas MacFarland's hands. offensively, Duke has been very balanced so far. Gerald Henderson currently leads the way for Duke with 8 points, while jon Scheyer and Elliot Williams both have 6. Williams got a huge ovation from the Cameron Crazies when he was taken out for a breather at the 10 minute mark.
11:58 to play, 1st half Duke 22, Wake 15- Duke is rally getting after it on the defensive end, and Elliot Williams has provided an early spark. Its becoming a very physical game, as bodies have been hitting the floor with regularity. Williams and Scheyer have rotated with the defensive assignment on Teague. It will be interesting to see if Wak attempts to counteract Duke's quicker lineup by taking advanage of their size down low.
15:47 to play, 1st half-Wake 13, Duke 11- Duke started the game with what is probably their most athletic lineup, as Elliot Williams got the start. Coach K was very animated in pregame introductions, trying to get the crowd fired up. Williams has been a difference maker on defense for Duke, accounting for 3 steals in Dukes backcourt pressure defense. To this point, however, Wake has had no problem getting the ball into the post. Duke has to find someone who can stop Jeff Teague's penetration.
Its another key ACC matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight as Duke looks to gain a measure of revenge against Wake Forest. These two teams met back on January 28th in Winston-Salem when Duke came in ranked #1 in the country, but left with a 70-68 loss to the young Demon Deacons. That started a slide that has seen the Blue Devils lose four of their last six conference games.That game was also the high-water mark for Wake's season to this point, as they have since dropped three of their last six conference decisions. These two teams find themselves tied at 7-4 in the conference, and this game could go a long way in determining seeding for the ACC Tournament, as both teams are jockeying for position. They both want to finish in the top four in the conference and secure one of those key first round byes in Atlanta.
Its starting to get loud in Cameron. This should be great one!
