Devils handle Davidson
In a matchup of two very well coached team, Duke's talent edge proved too much for Davidson to overcome as the Devils took a 84-55 victory over the Wildcats Saturday evening.
J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams paced the Duke attack by combining for 49 points on 18-for-31 shooting.
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The second biggest storyline had to be Duke's defense, which has simply been unrelenting since about the 10 minute mark of the first half in the season opener against Boston University.
Against a Davidson team known for its long range accuracy, Duke limited the Wildcats to a mere eight downtown attempts and only surrendered one made three point basket.
Reigning Southern Conference player of the year Brendan Winters put up his customary 17 points, but he could only squeeze off three shots from behind the three point arch against the Duke pressure.
As a whole, Davidson only turned it over 14 times but Duke silenced them to the tune of 38.6 percent shooting.
Williams nearly recorded a triple-double for the Devils. The Landlord only needed one more blocked shot to achieve the feat. His stat line of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 blocked shots is still very impressive.
Duke gradually and consistently managed to pull away from the very experienced and disciplined Davidson team.
Leading 43-29 at halftime, Duke didn't reach their final victory margin of 29 until Lee Melchionni's three pointer with 12 seconds remaining in the game.
Mike Krzyzewski employed basically a seven man rotation in the game. DeMarcus Nelson was inserted back into the starting lineup after Greg Paulus got the starting nod against Seton Hall Wednesday night.
Paulus and Melchionni logged most of the bench minutes and both players contributed significantly. Paulus showed a good floor presence and played intelligently in his 19 minutes, connecting on his only shot attempts, both three pointers. He also dished two assists and didn't have a turnover.
Melchionni hit from downtown three times, but was a major factor on the boards, claiming seven rebounds to help give Duke the edge in that category, 33-31.
Duke improves to 3-0 on the season with a trip to Madison Square Garden in New York awaiting them Wednesday night.
The Devils will take on Drexel in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tipoff.
The game today was the season opener for Davidson as the Wildcats fell to 0-1.
Ian Johnson led the way in their scoring column with 19 points against Duke.