CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--When it comes down to crunch time, the team that steps up its level of play the most will usually win the game. On Saturday, Virginia was the team that stepped it up in order to beat the men's basketball team 77-66 in Charlottesville, Va.
The defeat was not only the fourth straight loss for the Blue Devils (9-6, 0-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference), but it was the fourth straight game in which they blew a second-half lead. The reason for this second-half collapse by the Blue Devils? A lack of effort and intensity.
"To their credit, I thought they played harder than we did in the second half and that's why they won," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
The key to Virginia's second-half run was an increase in defensive intensity. The Cavaliers used their physical brand of defense to completely shut down the Duke offense. Virginia held the Blue Devils to 9-of-32 shooting (29.1 percent) from the field in the second half. After a Chris Collins three-pointer with 6:42 left gave Duke a 62-57 lead, the Blue Devils were only able to score one more basket for the remainder of the day as the Cavaliers went on a 20-4 run to finish the game.
"I think you've got to credit Virginia's defense," Collins said. "They were very physical. They were doing a good job of really bodying up on us. It was tough for us to screen their players. We were getting down to the end of the shot clock and then it becomes kind of a create your own shot. They did a good job of getting hands in faces and some shots that we made early in the game didn't go."
Spearheading the Virginia effort, both offensively and defensively, was junior guard Harold Deane. Deane finished with 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds despite drawing the bulk of Duke's defensive attention. Deane also made a strong contribution to Virginia's defensive effort.
"They can really play hard-nosed basketball," Krzyzewski said. "Not just inside--I'm talking on the perimeter. Of course, it's headed by Deane. Deane's just an exceptional player. In trying to stop him, it creates opportunities for other people."
Two of Virginia's other wing players stepped up, especially in the second half, to help Deane out. Sophomore guard Curtis Staples scored 15 points, including a few timely threes, to help Virginia take over. Freshman guard Courtney Alexander, a native of Durham, scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Alexander, who played pick-up games in Card Gym with many of the current Blue Devils throughout his high school career, chose the game against his hometown team to have perhaps the best game of his young collegiate career.
"I've known Courtney for a long time and he played very, very well," Krzyzewski said. "I respect him, he's a great kid and he had a heck of a game against us."
It was a driving layup by Alexander with six minutes remaining that kicked off the Virginia run that won the game. A combination of timely drives to the basket, solid foul shooting and a long three by Staples helped Virginia put the game away for good.
In addition to the strong play of Virginia's three top perimeter players, Duke's weak inside effort also helped guarantee the UVa win. Possibly the most telling statistic of the game were the numbers on Duke's defensive boards for the second half--Duke had 8 defensive rebounds (15 for the game), while UVa grabbed 10 offensive rebounds (16 for the game).
"We did a terrible job on the defensive rebounds," Collins said following the game on Saturday. "For them to numerous times get in there and get their hands on balls and deflect it out for open shooters--if you give great shooters like their team two, three, four chances, they're going to make them. That's why when we cause them to take a tough shot, we ought to collect the rebound and go down and execute and score. Numerous times today they were able to pound the offensive glass and punish us."
Duke's poor inside play throughout the second half also helped the Cavaliers shut down the outside attack. Duke's big men, Taymon Domzalski and Greg Newton combined for only six points in the half, allowing UVa to focus its efforts on Duke's potent perimeter.
"We didn't show all afternoon an inside presence," Krzyzewski said. "So if you're just defending the perimeter and not getting the inside action, then the perimeter becomes a little bit easier to defend."
The extra effort Virginia was able to put into its perimeter defense helped them to shut down the Duke outside attack that had been unstoppable in the first half. The Blue Devils went 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from three-point range in the opening half, with junior guard Jeff Capel nailing three and Collins and sophomore Ricky Price hitting two each.
Duke maintained the lead throughout the half as a result of their outside shooting. Duke's outside shooters were able to counter the strong play of Deane and Alexander by matching them basket for basket, giving the Blue Devils a 40-34 halftime lead.
The loss brought back further memories for the Blue Devils and their fans of last year's miserable 13-19 season. Last year, Duke lost its first nine ACC games. The Blue Devils have again lost their first four, but are looking to nip a repeat of last season in the bud.
"I don't think about [last year], but like I said, until we step up and win games, it's gonna be thrown at us," Collins said. "Everybody has every reason to say that this is a repeat of last year. We don't believe that, but until we start executing at the end of games and winning, that's what it looks like to everybody."
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