CORAL GABLES, Fla. - After a recent stretch during which the Blue Devils have struggled to put the ball in the basket, Duke had little trouble lighting up the scoreboard Sunday-and was almost perfect from the field in the first half.
This time-and perhaps for the first time this season-the Blue Devils actually looked comfortable on offense.
The team pushed the ball consistently up the floor in the first half-Duke shot a blistering 81 percent from the field in the period-converting Miami turnovers and missed shots into 11 fast break points.
Sophomore Greg Paulus returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the Blue Devils' last game against Georgia Tech and ran an efficient offense, breaking away from his tendency to commit turnovers during his recent mini-slump in ACC play.
The Hurricanes had no answer for freshman Jon Scheyer, who has emerged as Duke's most consistent threat on the perimeter. Because Paulus was steady at the point, Scheyer was able to focus on his shot and turned in a career-high 25 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
"Certain games more shots are going to be there than other games," Scheyer said. "Tonight was one of those nights where I hit a couple early, and I felt good and I just kept shooting it."
The freshman put forth the best effort of his young career, dominating the Hurricanes inside and out. He connected on 4 of 6 three-pointers and consistently drove to the basket throughout the contest, reaching the foul line 11 times-and making all 11.
At times during the first half, it seemed as if Duke didn't miss-a feeling that really wasn't too far from the truth. The Blue Devils shot a remarkable 17-for-21 during the frame, highlighted by the final 10 minutes when Duke missed only one shot from both the field and the foul line.
In the Blue Devils' previous two defeats, the squad was unable to capitalize on opportunities to seal victories late in the game. Jan. 6 against Virginia Tech, Duke held the Hokies to only one field goal in overtime but could only muster one itself. Jan. 11 against the Yellow Jackets, the Blue Devils let the game slip away after cutting the Georgia Tech lead to two with less than four minutes remaining.
Sunday, however, Duke seized control of the game from the get-go. The Blue Devils did allow Miami to quickly trim a 16-point, first-half lead to only nine at the break. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils started the second half on a 19-5 run, erasing any thoughts of an 0-3 start to the ACC slate.
"Any time you can win on the road in conference play, it's a good thing," Paulus said. "This is one [win], hopefully it will get us going, and it's a good experience for future road games. This is only the second one for a lot of the guys on the team, and to play well is a really good confidence builder."
Although Duke took control of the game early with its hot shooting, the Blue Devils continued to build upon that lead in the second half by limiting the Hurricanes to only 23 points on 40.9 percent shooting after the intermission. For the first time in recent memory, Duke dominated on both ends of the court.
While Sunday's victory silenced the critics, it only does so for the time being. The win avoided Duke' first three-game losing streak since the 1995-96 season, but in order to keep the momentum going, the Blue Devils must continue to put forth a solid effort not only on defense, but on offense as well. Despite previous results this season, Sunday showed that the ingredients of a good offense are there.
"We have to practice harder, we have to keep at it-there is no magic," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We practice very hard, and we're going to continue to practice real hard and we're going to see how it goes. We've got a lot of games and these are good kids. I just want them to fight and not have the expectations of being perfect placed on them or what past Duke teams have placed on them. They need to get their own identities."
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