ATLANTA - The Blue Devils turned in their worst shooting performance of the season, but it didn't matter as their defense once again carried them to their seventh straight win.
The No. 3 Blue Devils (15-1, 3-0 in the ACC) defeated Georgia Tech 70-56 Wednesday at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum behind a stingy defensive effort, particularly in the final 10 minutes of the game.
"Our defense has been the strength for us the whole year," junior Jon Scheyer said. "At times when our offense isn't going well, we've relied on our defense, and that happened today."
After playing evenly with the Yellow Jackets (9-7, 0-3) for nearly 30 minutes, Duke went small for the last quarter of the game, playing senior Dave McClure at center. While the undersized lineup was a matter of necessity because Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas both were in foul trouble, McClure's defense on Georgia Tech's Zachery Peacock and Gani Lawal allowed Duke to make a run to put the game out of reach.
With just more than eight minutes remaining, the Blue Devils nursed a 46-41 lead. But after the second-to-last media timeout, Duke's pressure caused the Yellow Jackets to commit three turnovers on four possessions as the Blue Devils took a commanding 56-44 advantage.
"[McClure] was terrific in the second half defensively," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He had two big blocks. He's just a heck of a defensive player and we needed that."
In the first half, the Georgia Tech frontcourt dominated Duke, scoring 19 of the team's 28 points and pulling down 18 rebounds. McClure noted that the Blue Devils had difficulty not switching on screens and defending the entry pass. Once the ball got into the post, the Yellow Jackets used their size advantage to take it to the hole.
But the defense shored up in the second session, limiting Lawal to two points and holding Peacock scoreless.
"To our kids' credit, they got it straight," Krzyzewski said. "We wanted to pressure the passer.... We tried to stay ball-you-man on [Lawal], where you're between him and the ball. But ball pressure is key."
Duke's aggressiveness on defense forced 18 turnovers, twice as many as the Blue Devils committed, leading to a 15-3 advantage in points off of takeaways. One of the turnovers even resulted from a 1-3-1 zone trap, the first time Krzyzewski said he has used such a set.
Sophomore Kyle Singler was an important asset defensively, particularly on the boards. He pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in addition to scoring 19 points, despite shooting 2-for-8 from beyond the arc. Gerald Henderson tied Singler's team-high mark of 19 points, but junior Jon Scheyer also struggled from the field, shooting 3-for-13.
With the team's two leading scorers having an off-night, two veterans provided an offensive spark in the first half, much as McClure did defensively in the second.
Junior Marty Pocius-who had registered just three minutes in ACC play-and senior Greg Paulus gave the Blue Devils a lift off the bench to help ignite a 14-3 run to end the first period.
Pocius scored only two points, but his ability to spread the floor and clear away a defender from the post freed Singler to crash the boards. Paulus was deadly from long-range and his second 3-pointer gave Duke a lead that it never gave up.
"We got a big boost in the first half with Paulus and Marty," Krzyzewski said. "Greg, I thought, had his first good game tonight. Not that he's been horrible, but he had some verve tonight."
And with a top-15 clash against Georgetown looming, the Blue Devils can use as many offensive options as possible as they look to continue their winning ways.
"I just kind of keep bringing my team along, try to mess around a little bit while we're going forward," Krzyzewski said. "By March, hopefully you've got the hand that can win."
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