NEW YORK - Two nights after J.J. Redick scored 31 points to send Duke to the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off, the Blue Devils' other All-American, Shelden Williams, stole the spotlight Friday.
Williams tipped in Sean Dockery's missed layup with 32.7 seconds remaining to put top-ranked Duke ahead of No. 11 Memphis (3-1) by two. The Blue Devils (5-0) held on to capture their third NIT Season Tip-Off, 70-67, Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Williams, who earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor, matched a career high with 30 points, 16 of which came in the second half as the forward touched the ball on nearly every possession. Memphis' Rodney Carney hounded Redick defensively and limited him to just three shots over the final 20 minutes, forcing Duke to rely more heavily on its big man.
Williams finished the game 11-for-13 and also grabbed eight rebounds to go along with his three blocks and two steals.
"Well it's an honor to win the first NCAA NIT," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said jokingly. "I thought it was just a terrific game. That's probably as athletic a team as we're going to face all year."
After taking a two-point lead on Williams' tip-in, Memphis (3-1) missed a shot and senior Lee Melchionni grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled. But the forward-who continued to struggle with his shot in Duke's two games in New York, going 1-for-7-missed both free throw attempts.
Once again, though, Williams made a play, tipping the missed shot back to Dockery. He was fouled with 9.5 seconds remaining to give Duke a second chance to make it a two-possession game.
"I thought we were winning this ballgame," Memphis head coach John Calipari said. "Let's talk about the two plays that cost us the game. They missed a layup and then they offensive rebounded, simply effort. They missed two free throws and they offensive rebound. That was within the last 50 seconds. That was the ballgame."
After missing the first free throw, Dockery hit the second, and Shawne Williams missed a long three-pointer at the buzzer sealing the Blue Devils hard-fought three-point victory.
After struggling with his shot for much of the game, Dockery stepped up big in the final minutes. With 2:04 left and Duke clinging to a one-point advantage, 64-63, the senior nailed his first three-pointer of the game from the left corner to put the Blue Devils ahead by four.
"My whole team was telling me to shoot the ball, coach even said it, he got mad at me when I wasn't shooting," Dockery said. "I've worked on that shot so much, I knew I was going to hit it, it was just a matter of time."
It was a big victory for Duke, which was forced to match the Tigers' up-and-down style without sophomore DeMarcus Nelson, the player whom Krzyzewski called Duke's best athlete following Wednesday night's 78-68 semifinal victory over Drexel (3-2). The guard suffered a hairline fracture in his right ankle just eight minutes into the Drexel game and is out indefinitely. He will be re-evaluated in Durham, with an announcement about his status expected in the next two days.
In Nelson's absence the pair of freshmen, Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus, put forth arguably their best performances since arriving at Duke. In the second start of his young career, Paulus had eight assists and added seven rebounds, while McRoberts added 12 points before fouling out with 3:54 left in the championship game.
Despite all the talk surrounding Duke's added depth during the preseason, Krzyzewski has kept to a short rotation-only seven players saw action Friday. And after scoring 15 points in the opening half, including 3-for-3 from long range, Redick was hardly involved at the offensive end after the intermission. The strong play of the freshmen was therefore a welcome sign.
"We just have to figure out other people who can score with [Redick and Williams]," Krzyzewski said. "That's where we will miss DeMarcus, because he was capable of driving, rebounding, shooting."
Krzyzewski has been in this situation before-when he has had to cope with a midseason injury to a major contributor-and often his teams have emerged stronger as a result. He said Nelson's absence will give other players the chance to emerge as the complement to the dynamic inside-outside duo of Redick and Williams.
"It's a long season-it's November, late November," Krzyzewski said. "We're not about playing for No. 1 or anything like that. We're just trying to develop as a basketball team."
NOTES:
Redick moved up two places and into 13th place on Duke's all-time scoring list during the Blue Devils' Nov. 23 game against Drexel. He currently sits seven points behind Grant Hill for 12th-. Redick is also closing in on Trajan Langdon for the school's all-time three-point lead. He needs just 11 more to tie Langdon's mark of 342.... Duke improved to 18-2 in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Blue Devils also won the title in 1985 and 2000-. UCLA defeated Drexel, 57-56, in the tournament's consolation game.
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