Speedy Duke flies past Tar Heels

CHAPEL HILL - With the Blue Devils' starting center Carlos Boozer helplessly balancing on crutches on the sideline, Duke reeling from a Senior Night loss to Maryland and UNC set to celebrate its first ACC title since 1995-"the kegs were probably already lined up on Franklin Street," Shane Battier said-yesterday was supposed to be a night for Carolina to remember.

Jason Williams and Battier made sure that it would be one they would never forget.

Williams scored 33 points and handed out nine assists and Battier, playing in his last ACC regular-season game, scored 25 points with 11 rebounds as the No. 2 Blue Devils (26-4, 13-3 in the ACC) manhandled archrival No. 4 North Carolina (23-5, 13-3) 95-81 yesterday in Chapel Hill to claim a share of the ACC regular-season title.

And this time, the win was not just about rivalry; it was about history, as the Blue Devils became the first team in ACC history to win or share the conference title for five straight seasons.

"This is the result of coming to work every single day with the dedication needed to be a champion," said Battier, who along with J.D. Simpson, Nate James and Ryan Caldbeck became the first Duke players to win three straight in Chapel Hill since the 1960s. The seniors have gone 5-1 against the Tar Heels. "We didn't just do it once, but five times. That will be something to look back on."

Duke's win avenged a two-point loss at home earlier in the season in which a staggering Blue Devil team shot just 13-of-27 from the free-throw line. Yesterday, Duke put on one of its most dazzling offensive performances of the season, keeping hope alive for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Not only did the Blue Devils shoot better from the free-throw line in the second installment of Tobacco Road's biggest rivalry, but in a dominating second half, the blistering Duke offense managed to shoot better from beyond the three-point arc (7-of-16) than the 42 percent free-throw clip in the first game.

"They caught fire," said UNC junior Ron Curry, who is now 1-6 against Duke in his career. "They made a lot of shots and they played a heck of a game.... We knew they were going to shoot a lot with Boozer out. We knew if they could get going, they would have five guys on the court sometimes that can hit threes."

A Mike Dunleavy layup with 11:54 to play pushed the Duke advantage to 15 and forced Doherty to change his team's strategy, benching center Brendan Haywood and power forward Kris Lang in favor of a smaller lineup.

"Our half-court offense was not where it needed to be," Doherty said. "We never really got into a rhythm, and credit that to the Duke defense.... [When we fell behind] we had to go with a smaller lineup to try and catch them and we couldn't exploit our size advantage."

The Tar Heels cut the deficit down to 10 three minutes later one play after a technical foul on an animated Doherty, but the slower Tar Heels could not keep up with Duke's track-meet pace. And without a dominant inside presence, UNC was not able to keep Duke off the glass, something it had done masterfully in the first meeting.

"The key to moving the ball down the court is to rebound," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "The key today was that we didn't give up many offensive rebounds, so we could grab the ball and push it down the court. We were able to push our advantage."

A 15-6 run spearheaded by freshman Chris Duhon and backcourt mate Williams pushed the advantage to 19 points and sent most of the sellout crowd of 21,750 heading to the exits.

"It was a great game," Krzyzewski said. "We had two amazing games with UNC this year. That it was a split is appropriate; I think both teams are terrific.... Tonight, we played winning basketball."

ACC leading scorer Joseph Forte paced the Tar Heels with 21 points, but shot just 7-of-21 from the floor. Forte was harassed and frustrated by a tenacious Duke defense, led by two-time defensive player of the year Battier.

The Blue Devils' defense held the Tar Heels to a meager 40 percent from the floor and just 35 percent during the critical second half. Battier, meanwhile, posted five blocks and four steals to go along with his 25 points and 11 rebounds.

"Battier was Battier," Krzyzewski said. "The things we were able to do on defense were all based on the things he did."

A win would have guaranteed the Tar Heels their first outright championship since 1993, although they will still enter this weekend's conference tournament as the top seed thanks to the ACC's tie-breaking system. The Blue Devils will enter at No. 2.