WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Henderson scores 18, leads Duke past Virginia 79-54

By Jake Lloyd

Feb 1, 2009

It didn't take long for No. 1 Duke to regain its swagger in Sunday's 79-54 win over Virginia.

In the Blue Devils' first ACC loss Wednesday, 70-68 at Wake Forest, Gerald Henderson lamented afterward that the Devils hadn't played aggressively enough, not attacking as hard as they should have until a late run that got them back into the game.

The tri-captain set an example for his teammates from the opening tip Sunday, stepping into a 3-pointer on the game's first possession and scoring 16 of his 18 points during a first half that ended with Duke (19-2, 6-1) comfortably ahead 43-21.

The junior also sparked a spirited defensive effort with two first-half steals that resulted in transition baskets as Duke broke the game open. The Devils forced 17 first-half turnovers, which resulted in 20 points — basically the difference at halftime.

"I think as a team we weren't aggressive defensively, I think that was the biggest thing," Henderson said of Duke's loss to the Demon Deacons. "But today, our defense had a lot to do with our offense. A lot of guys got contesting steals.

"A lot of guys got out on the fast break. Nolan (Smith) had a really good finish off of one of the steals, and that's important for us to be aggressive on defense. That kind of gets you in an aggressive mindset for offense."

Smith finished with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Jon Scheyer added 11 for the Devils, who shot 46.3 percent coming off their worst shooting performance of the season in Winston-Salem.

Sylven Landesberg scored a game-high 20 points for the Cavaliers (7-10, 1-5), but no other Cavalier had more than 10.

Duke's strong showing started with Henderson, who along with Smith attacked from the get-go — scoring for himself and then feeding teammates once the defense collapsed on him. He made six of 13 field goals and dished out four assists.

After starting the season slowly while recovering from a right wrist injury, Henderson has exploded over the past month. He has scored 17 or more points in seven consecutive games.

Henderson's performance Sunday was particularly important, considering that leading scorer Kyle Singler had just recovered from a minor sickness and wasn't himself — Singler scored a season-low five points and had a mediocre five rebounds.

"Gerald was around the ball a lot, and that was big," Singler said. "Gerald is a basketball player, he makes plays, and he was aggressive and he was able to get the ball in the bucket.

"(We) established ourselves offensively, and Gerald was a big part of that."

For the Devils all season, playing well defensively has translated into better offense. That's exactly how Henderson helped Duke regain its swagger against a young, overwhelmed Virginia team.

Leading 21-11, Henderson was involved in every aspect of a 13-1 spurt. First, he knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game. After a steal and score by Smith, Henderson took the ball to the basket, was fouled and made both free throws.

Then he made a steal of his own, stepping into a passing lane to knock the ball loose before a couple of dribbles and a fast-break dunk. A minute later, after Virginia's Jeff Jones appeared to corral a defensive rebound, Henderson poked the ball loose from his grasp and quickly threw down another crowd-pleasing dunk.

A jumper by Smith gave Duke a 22-point advantage, 34-12, and all but sealed the Cavaliers' fate.

It was a statement period of play by Henderson, who knew the Devils needed to regain a high level of confidence against one of the ACC's lower-rung teams heading into a difficult stretch of games — at Clemson on Wednesday and against Miami and North Carolina at home.

"Had we played a Carolina today it would have been tougher, because if you play a team like that after a loss you're kind of figuring out where you are," Henderson said. "But it's good.

"We have a good game on Wednesday with Clemson, so it's good to get a quality win today. It's really helpful for us."

While Duke won't retain the No. 1 spot when the national rankings come out Monday, the Devils know that when they play defense like they did Sunday, turning 23 Virginia miscues into 29 points, they're a strong, confident team.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team is still trying to find its personality. But what's not unclear is how well the Devils can guard — only one of seven conference opponents has scored more than 60 points, and no one has eclipsed 70 — and on Sunday, Henderson was a big part of that.

"I think this year more than any other year they are the best in this league (defensively)," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "While doing so, they're still scoring. … This team scores a lot but yet doesn't give up a lot."