Duke's center and power forward committee played its best game of the year with the help of new chairman Shelden Williams.
The 6-foot-10 freshman set new career highs for points and rebounds with 18 and 13, respectively, as Duke's four main inside players outscored their Georgia Tech opponents 37-24 and outrebounded them 24-16.
As a team, the Blue Devils outrebounded the visiting Yellow Jackets 41-29 and pulled away to a 91-71 victory.
"Our big guys, as a group, that was the best that group has played against a big team," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Duke's rebounding edge (12) was the largest of the season for the Blue Devils, and a particularly impressive accomplishment against a Georgia Tech team that was averaging nearly six more rebounds per game than its opponents.
"It's all we hear all the time... 'We're a shooting team, we're a finesse team and all the stuff,'" said Nick Horvath, who finished with seven points and two rebounds-all of which came in less than two minutes of the first half. "But we're beating the crap out of each other in practice and it's fun to finally get some credit for it."
Horvath started at power forward for the Blue Devils and promptly took the game over with Duke down 5-2. The junior made a spin move in the paint for a layup, grabbed the next defensive
Later in the half, it was Casey Sanders' chance to explode. With less than a minute left and Duke leading by three, the senior swatted a shot by B.J. Elder, and Dahntay Jones fed the ball to Williams, who jammed the rock ahead of the defense. On the next possession, Sanders struck again-this time blocking a layup by 7-1 center Luke Schenscher. Duke carried a five-point lead and all the momentum into halftime.
"They did an excellent job," Chris Duhon said of his teammates. "All four of them came in and contributed in their own special way. Nick gave us a great boost at the beginning of the game. Casey gave us a great boost at the end of the first half."
Freshman Shavlik Randolph provided his big play in the second half as Duke was pulling away. He received an outlet pass from J.J. Redick and soared to the basket for powerful dunk. Marvin Lewis stepped underneath him, trying to draw the foul, but instead Lewis was called for the block. Randolph converted the free throw and the Blue Devil lead grew to 14.
But throughout the entire game, the constant was Williams.
"I thought our big guys gave us a huge boost
The Oklahoman blocked two of Lewis' shots during the same possession in the first half and provided the team and crowd with a reason for enthusiasm. He scored nine points in each half and remained a presence throughout.
"I did well both rebounding and on the defensive end, and I got the chance to score some more points," said Williams, who had been averaging less than seven points per game. "It was a boost for my confidence."
Meanwhile, Duke held Chris Bosh, a 6-10 freshman, to five points--more than 11 below his average-and also negated Schenscher, Ed Nelson and Anthony McHenry.
"It felt good because we all contributed," Horvath said. "All four of us really work hard-and we're competing for playing time, but coach says the way we're going to win is if we don't care who's doing the scoring, just that someone's doing it. It's the best when we're all doing it."
Duke's victory, coming on the heels of losses to N.C. State and Maryland, was important for the big men in terms of recapturing momentum for the season.
"We were tired of getting pushed around on the inside, so we wanted to come out here and make a statement, and then keep building on that statement," Williams said.
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