Blue Devils rally, win in second half

After a J.C. Mathis basket gave Virginia a 44-42 lead to open the second half, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wondered if his players would respond to his halftime message. Less than five minutes later, after a Chris Duhon three-pointer gave Duke a 59-48 lead, he had his answer.

Following a first half in which the Blue Devils (18-1, 6-1 in the ACC) shot 35.7 percent from the floor while allowing the Cavaliers (14-3, 4-3) to cash in on 47.2 percent of their attempts, Duke came out of the locker room to knock down 67.9 percent of its second-half shots en route to a 94-81 victory.

"You could definitely sense a sense of urgency in here at halftime," Duke guard Jason Williams said. "I just wish I could tell you the words that came out of my coach's mouth.... But that's why he's the best coach ever--he knows how to motivate people."

Although Krzyzewski's words undoubtedly had their effect, Duke was also aided by the foul troubles that plagued UVa's big men throughout the game. Four Cavalier players picked up three fouls each during the first half; 6-foot-8 forward Jason Clark fouled out less than four minutes into the second half, while 6-7 forward Chris Williams picked up his fifth with 1:37 left in the game.

"I think when you have three or four fouls you're less apt to try to take that charge or try to get that strip," Williams said. "You're not as aggressive as you can be. That opened up a lot of opportunities."

Williams was not the only Blue Devil who took Krzyzewski's words to heart; Duhon's four assists and three steals in the second-half were also testaments to Duke's more intensified style of play.

"We were more emotional and we wanted to attack more," Duhon said. "[In the first half] we were settling too much for jumpers, we weren't going to the hole and we were letting them do whatever the wanted on rebounding. It was just a matter of attacking, keeping them out of the lane while they were on offense, getting to the hole, giving it to Carlos and letting him do what he does best."

And in the second half, that meant dominating in the paint. Boozer piled up 15 points in the final 20 minutes, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor to finish with 25 points for the game. After scoring only 10 points in the paint during the first half, the Blue Devils registered 26 in the second half, including several Williams-to-Boozer combinations that left the 6-9 Juneau, Ak. native open for short jumpers or dunks.

As the second half unfolded, however, it became clear which team would rise above the other. An acrobatic Dahntay Jones tip-in off a Jason Williams miss began Duke's second-half run, while another Jones tip-in off a Boozer miss made the score 56-48 as the Blue Devils pulled away for good.

Meanwhile, Jones and company continued to shut down Virginia guard Roger Mason. After holding the Wooden award candidate to two points in the first half, Duke held the Silver Spring, Md. native to 3-of-9 shooting in the second half, including a 1-of-6 performance from behind the arc for the game.

"He does have flaws," Jones said. "He's a good player, but we just tried to get him off the three-point line, limit his three-point attempts, and push him into taking tough shots."