CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- After Virginia's Elton Brown pushed the Cavaliers' lead to 30-28 with two free throws at the 7:55 mark in the first half, things were not going the Blue Devils' way.
Due to highly effective ball-penetration by Virginia's guards, Duke center Shelden Williams had already picked up foul number three, and moments later J.J. Redick would acquire his third personal. Making matters worse for No. 2 Duke (12-1, 2-0 in the ACC), Cavalier star Devin Smith had forgotten how to miss, nailing his first three three-pointers en route to scoring 11 points in the game's first 12 minutes.
"We were having some serious problems," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
But with a lineup that included little-used reserves Lee Melchionni and Nick Horvath, Duke went on to finish the half on an 18-8 run, which keyed Duke's 93-71 defeat of the Cavaliers. Daniel Ewing and Luol Deng each scored six points during the run, and Krzyzewski said he felt the Blue Devils' defensive intensity was the greatest catalyst for the outcome-changing run.
"Because of their penetration we were fouling," Krzyzewski said. "We started playing defense better around the eight-minute mark, when we stopped penetration...we didn't stop it, but limited it. We could have lost that game in the first half. There's no question about it. We regrouped right at the end of the half, and our guys played really well in the second half."
"We got some great minutes from Lee Melchionni and Nick Horvath," he continued. "I thought our bench really reacted well." Duke carried its momentum in the second half, scoring 20 points in the half's first six minutes, increasing its lead to 15.
"I think the key to the game was the end of the first half...last two or three minutes [of the first half]," Virginia head coach Pete Gillen said. "We could have gone [into halftime] down two or three or four, instead of eight. And began the second half...we took some bad shots, turnovers...then it went out. They were a great team, maybe a little intimidating."
But Virginia (10-3, 0-2 in the ACC) gave viewers of the Packers-Eagles NFL playoff game something interesting to monitor during commercial breaks when the Cavaliers' intense man-to-man defense and methodical offense dwindled Duke's lead to 69-58. Then both squads went into an offensive funk: Neither team scored between the 12:50 and 9:31 marks in the second half.
The Blue Devils then drowned their drought by finishing the game on a 24-13 run. Williams and captain Chris Duhon led Duke in the second half, with the burly center scoring 17 points in the second stanza alone, and the speedy guard finishing the game with 15 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and one turnover.
"In the second half we just executed really well," Krzyzewski said. "Duhon was great the whole ball game. He energized us. That was one of his best games, and we needed it today."
"[Williams] really had a heck of a game. He made some great, great plays."
Williams' 21 points led six Blue Devils in double figures: Shavlik Randolph dropped 12 points, Redick totaled 14, Ewing scored 11, and Deng finished with 12.
"We tried to base our offense more around the team both inside and outside... to have more of a balance, we tried to run more [half-court] plays," Duhon said.
The Blue Devils finished off the Cavaliers when they went into their slow-down offense with approximately seven minutes remaining. The offense, which has proved effective all season long, has actually increased leads rather than merely preserving them.
"If you are able to execute at the end of the clock, which we've been able to do at a high percentage, you not only get that rest, you get a shot of adrenaline that you've just scored," Krzyzewski said.
The Blue Devils hope the momentum from the Virginia game will spill into the rest of its ACC schedule.
"[Conference] games are the most important game of the season," Redick said.
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