Duke Uses Late Second Half Run To Beat Terps, 77-65

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Duke Uses Late Second Half Run To Beat Terps, 77-65

By Jake Lloyd

Feb 14, 2008

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For seven minutes Wednesday, No. 2 Duke was not itself.

Rather, Maryland played like the Blue Devils usually do, forcing turnovers and turning them into easy baskets. When the Terrapins' James Gist threw down a thundering two-handed dunk in transition to cut Duke's lead to two points, there was no doubt which team had the momentum.

But the Devils didn't sweat the poor stretch, quickly turning the close game into another double-digit victory, 77-65. It was a familiar story for the 22-1 Devils.

According to senior DeMarcus Nelson, last season the Devils might have dropped a game like Wednesday's.

"This year's team, we've been in so many tough games, and (when) we come into the game, we have confidence in ourselves," Nelson said.

Then he paused.

"And we know we're gonna win."

The Devils appeared well on their way to beginning ACC play 10-0 when freshman Kyle Singler made one of his six 3-pointers to give Duke a 54-43 lead with just over 14 minutes remaining.

But then Duke went cold. Lance Thomas bricked two free throws. Nelson missed a short jumper. Gerald Henderson threw the ball off Greg Paulus' hands. Paulus missed a 3. You get the story.

The Terps, meanwhile, got out in transition — with Greivis Vasquez (team-high 25 points) scoring a jumper and a layup, and Gist converting the dunk to make it 57-55 with 7:58 remaining.

Duke ended up outscoring Maryland (16-9, 4-4) 31-9 in points off turnovers and 10-8 in fast-break points, but during those 7 minutes, things were reversed.

The Devils, though, never doubted that they would pull out the victory. After all, they still had the lead, and with their array of ball-handlers, closing out games has been one of their specialties.

With about 11 minutes remaining, Nelson and Paulus sat on the bench watching as their lead became smaller by the minute. Neither upperclassman was going to let it dissipate completely.

"We were just telling each other that, 'Hey, there's 11 minutes left — we've got a game on our hands, and we've got to give it all we've got for these last 11 minutes,'" Nelson said.

"And we were encouraging each other that by no means were we going to lose this game."

And, sure enough, the Devils dominated the final 8 minutes. They spread the floor with five players who can handle the ball — Paulus, Nelson, Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Singler — and they let the clock run down. Maryland, with its bigger — but slower — players didn't dare challenge the Devils out near half court.

On most possessions, when the shot clock neared 10, Duke went to work on taking advantage of its mismatches. Against the Terps, it was Scheyer, who was guarded by the 6-foot-9 Gist, who handled the ball out near the timeline.

He would receive a pick from Singler — guarded by 6-8 giant Bambale Osby — and the Terrapins had to choose their medicine. They could keep Scheyer out of the lane but risk leaving the versatile Singler open on the perimeter, or they could stay on Singler and risk Scheyer driving the lane past their two-shot-blockers.

Singler scored a career-high 26 points and Scheyer poured in 10 of his 13 in the second half.

Both players killed Maryland in the final minutes. First, Singler made a driving layup on the baseline for a 59-55 lead. A little more than a minute later, Singler knocked down a 3-pointer, and after one of Henderson's five steals, Paulus gave Singler a no-look pass for a transition dunk and a 66-57 advantage.

Then, coach Mike Krzyzewski spread his arms, indicating for the Devils to slow the pace to a crawl and spread the floor on offense — but not stop scoring.

Scheyer followed coach's orders, blowing by Gist and Osby for an uncontested layup and a commanding 68-57 lead. On Duke's next possession, the same thing happened, except that Scheyer was fouled and made both free throws.

On Duke's ensuing possession, Singler fooled the Terps, who expected the Devils to slow the pace again again. The precocious freshman saw an opening and flew through it, eventually dishing the ball to Nelson for an easy slam.

Maryland coach Gary Williams acknowledged that defending the 6-foot-8 Singler is no easy task.

"A couple of times we helped off the screen too far, a couple of times we just didn't do what we were supposed to with him," Williams said. "He's too good — you can't make mistakes.

"That's why he's considered one of the best freshmen in the country."

Singler finished 10-of-17 from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds.

Nelson is surprised that teams continue to leave Singler open outside the 3-point arc this deep in the season.

"Once we get dribble penetration, his man always is going to be in the paint, which will give him — night in, night out — wide open 3s," Nelson said. "For some reason, it always happens that way. Hey, we're going to continue to do it.

"And then when they do close out on him, that's a big guy trying to guard him on the perimeter (who) most of the time is going to be a lot slower than he is. So he's going to be able to beat him off the dribble. He's been able to recognize his mismatches and pick his spots to be aggressive."

Whatever happens the first 30 minutes of a game, it is becoming clear that if Duke has a lead to work with in the final minutes, it has a good chance of pulling away for the victory. All of the Devils believe this — and they have the right strategy to get the job done.

"I think we're a very confident team," Paulus said. "I think our experiences this year have allowed us to be, and we understand what to do in certain situations."

Most Recent Comments

rumbleehockey03 February 14, 2008 4:45 p.m. Report abuse

If KaroWHINA was at full stregnth, and in 1ST PLACE, would all that REALLY MATTER??????

Somehow I doubt it... But WHINE away KaroWHINA, WHINE away... it'll be ok... you live to fight another day.
Coach K is GREAT
February 14, 2008 5:53 p.m.
Report abuse

WHAT!? youre so hurt by my comments that you dont even know what youre talking about....your brain is so full of dookie. just let it go.....deep breaths

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Duke is playing great when the game is on the line. But, I will disagree at this time that they are the best in the Country. Watch out for Memphis. It's too early now to know.

Wait to see who reaches the Final Four, before you say they are the best of the rest.
Hokie 94
GOLO member since December 19, 2007
February 14, 2008 5:06 p.m.
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We'll see how good Memphis when a REAL team from a REAL conference Tennessee comes to town... I think they're overated, but we'll see...

GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe if roy learns from K how to teach the heels to push off, run illegal picks, kick people in the ribs (paulus in the state game), shoove people (paulus last night) or throw elbows to the face (last year) without getting fouls we could be on dukes level
rumbleehockey03
GOLO member since February 13, 2008
February 14, 2008 4:45 p.m.

Even with all that... I doubt it. Like I told KD, school is in session 8 miles down the road in Durham, if he's ineterested.

"TBK - sorry, I missed that. That's pretty cool. Good for State! They are my 2nd favorite team in the league."

And Duke is mine! Who was the wise man that once said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend..." Wise, indeed! :)

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