Chris Carrawell stood in his locker room confused and angry with himself.
He had just dropped his fourth game ever in Cameron, but his second in as many weeks, and the senior guard was visibly shaken. The usually outspoken Carrawell was much more quiet than usual, struggling to express himself.
He didn't know exactly why it happened, or even how it happened, but he certainly knew what had happened. In the final minutes of Saturday's 83-82 loss to St. John's, Carrawell was given the ball and asked to take over. For perhaps the first time all season, he failed to deliver.
"I don't know, I don't know," Carrawell said, shaking his head. "It just wasn't there. It's probably the first time all year, it just wasn't there. The first half, I think I played well. The second half, I don't know what the hell was going on.... It's probably the first time all year, I didn't come through."
Carrawell scored just four points in the second half on just 1-of-5 shooting, missing his last four shots. On consecutive possessions in the game's final two-and-a-half minutes, Carrawell was called for a charge (his uncharacteristic fourth foul) and then was stripped by Anthony Glover.
"I did some uncharacteristic things," Carrawell said. "I was in foul trouble, I missed free throws, lost the ball two, three times; it was a tough loss."
Carrawell has had off-nights before, but when he has struggled, fellow captain Shane Battier has always been there to pick up the slack. Battier scored 11 points during an early 22-5 run, but after his brief offensive burst, Battier disappeared in crunch time. The junior scored just one point in the second half and took just two shots from the floor.
"I settled for the jump shot," Battier said. "I stopped looking to penetrate and as a result, when the few [shots] didn't go down, I became a little discouraged."
Beyond its zone defense, St. John's did nothing special to contain either player. Saturday was just one of those days when Duke's duo struggled at the same time.
"Shane and Chris, they're great veterans," Jason Williams said. "They've done a number of step-ups for us throughout the season. When you see [them struggling], I tried to pick it up, Carlos [Boozer] tried to pick it up. I tried to pick up the intensity a lot today, and hey, it didn't work. There's nothing I can really say about it, we just didn't come to play."
Williams did what he could, but this is Carrawell and Battier's team. The two captains combined for just five second-half points, by far the lowest total of the season. Williams and Boozer recognized the problem, and both tried to step up. Boozer recovered from an awful start to score 21 points, while Williams dished out 13 assists, tying his career high.
Nate James, meanwhile, showed no signs of a recent illness and went off for 20 points. And while all three tried to emerge as Battier and Carrawell's replacement, it did not happen. The Blue Devils live and die by Carrawell and Battier.
"We both struggled," Carrawell said. "Jason and Carlos and Nate, they almost pulled it through. If myself or Shane come up with a couple of plays, maybe we pull out this game.
"It was a tough day for me and Shane."
Carrawell and Battier know that they must carry this team, a responsibility they have embraced all year. But a key question has been raised in the past two weeks, and resonated Saturday.
How long can they keep it up?
Battier and Carrawell average nearly 36 minutes per game each. Both players have admitted to fatigue, so it is fair to ask how much longer can they go. Carrawell is a warrior, but he is worn down. Saturday, he even complained about the Cameron heat, which surely must be a first.
"I don't know. You could definitely tell I was [tired]," Carrawell said. "It was hot in there today, it wore me out. No Dunleavy, see, its like I'm making excuses now. They beat us, don't get me wrong. But we've got to play 40 minutes. It was tough."
Although Carrawell can't quite put his finger on it, he knows he doesn't like the feeling he felt in that locker room. Both Battier and Carrawell will regroup next week, but the Blue Devils' NCAA success rides solely on their shoulders.
"What you have to do, as the veterans, you can't think tired," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "No question they're playing a huge amount of minutes, it's hot in here, they're playing against a great team, there's a lot of emotion, all those kids out there were tired.... You still have to find a way to win."
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