WINSTON-SALEM - It has been said that defense wins championships. As the men's basketball team has shown over the last three years, defense can also win many ACC games-28 in a row, to be exact.
The fifth-ranked Blue Devils (15-2, 6-0 in the ACC) held Wake Forest (11-7, 2-4) to just 28 percent shooting in the second half Saturday, en route to a 75-61 victory at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
"We feel really good about this win today," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "My team's really exhausted, but it's nice to be exhausted having won another conference game."
The win gave the Duke program, and Krzyzewski, yet another conference record, as it eclipsed the mark for consecutive regular-season ACC victories set by N.C. State from 1972-75. In addition, the game gave the program its 1,600th win, joining Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas with that many victories.
The Blue Devils had trouble hitting the broad side of a barn in the first half, connecting on only 9-of-26 shots from the field. However, Duke held a slim 33-31 advantage at the half due in large part to a 12-of-14 showing from the free-throw line.
"I thought they outplayed us in the first half," Krzyzewski said. "I told our team at halftime, we need to really kick it up a bunch, especially on the defensive end."
The second half remained tight through the opening minutes, but the tide turned completely in Duke's favor with just under 12 minutes left to play. With the Blue Devils holding a 47-43 advantage, Niki Arinze pushed the ball up the right side of the court on a two-on-one fast break. Unfortunately for the
Arinze took the ball straight to the hoop and flew through the air, dunking right on top of Battier. The crowd's cheers quickly turned to boos, however, as the referee signaled a charge on the Wake Forest high flier.
"[Battier taking the charge] was such a great play," Krzyzewski said. "It was kind of an easy call, even though it was a great play, because Shane was there for so long. I'm sitting there saying, this kid's got amazing guts. He just sees it and steps in front of him; it's a huge play."
While Battier laid his body on the line to change the momentum of the game, Chris Carrawell saw the scene from a player's point of view.
"That had to hurt," he said. "Arinze flushed it on him, just really flushed it. But that's Shane Battier."
On the other end of the court, Battier spotted up in the corner and nailed a three-pointer to extend the Duke lead to seven, 50-43. This five-point swing put the Blue Devils in the driver's seat for the rest of the game.
"[Battier's three] was as big a bucket as there was in the ballgame," Krzyzewski said.
The Demon Deacons had one last run in them, but Duke was up to the challenge. After Wake Forest trimmed the deficit to 56-50 with 6:15 remaining, the Blue Devils answered with a 10-2 run to put the game away for good.
Jason Williams, who connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field for 19 points, started the run with a deep three-point basket from the corner, extending Duke's advantage to nine.
Nate James scored the next five points for Duke, including a three-point play on a fast break layup. The spurt was capped off when Battier found Mike Dunleavy on a back door cut for a reverse lay-in. This basket put the Blue Devils up 66-52 and turned the final 3:52 into a free-throw shooting contest.
The Demon Deacons, led by Robert O'Kelley, opened the game with a flurry, scoring the first seven points of the contest. O'Kelley accounted for six of Wake's first nine points, before the Blue Devil defense clamped down on the Deacons' offensive star.
O'Kelley connected on a baseline floater five minutes into the first half, giving Wake Forest a 13-8 lead. At this point, the combination of Williams and Chris Carrawell took over to shut down the junior point guard. O'Kelley did not score another point until 5:25 into the second half, ending the day a dismal 7-for-18 from the field.
While Wake Forest grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, it was unable to turn these second chances into points. The Duke interior defense can be blamed for much of the Deacon struggles, as it rejected eight Wake Forest shots on the day, led by Battier's four.
On the offensive end of the floor, Duke displayed a balanced attack that saw all five starters reach double figures. As the Wake Forest shooting numbers went straight downhill in the second half, the Blue Devil percentage moved the exact opposite direction, as Duke posted a 63 percent shooting percentage for the last 20 minutes.
"The five guys in double figures is indicative of how we've played the entire year," Krzyzewski said. "That's been the strength of our team-the versatility and the matchups we can create by subbing just one guy."
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