Photo by Chase Olivieri/The Chronicle
ATLANTA -- Make room in the rafters for the Blue Devils' first banner since 2006.
Third-seeded Duke rolled out to a 35-21 halftime lead, and its potent trio of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler helped the Blue Devils win the ACC Tournament in a 79-69 rout Sunday at the Georgia Dome. The conference crown is Duke's first since 2006, and the first for Henderson, Scheyer and Singler, all of whom were named to the Tournament's first team.
Scheyer, who scored 29 points, garnered Tournament MVP honors, while Henderson also posted 27 in the championship game.
The three Blue Devil stars, who combined to score 70 of Duke's 79 points, were in the middle of every run the Blue Devils made to win the title. Unlike Duke's previous two Tournament games-both of which were decided in the waning minutes-the Blue Devils established control early and never let go. The champions ran out to a 29-14 first-half lead, all 29 coming from Henderson, Singler and Scheyer.
And when head coach Mike Krzyzewski's squad sealed the win with a 23-7 run in the second half, the three players scored 21 of those 23 points. Singler nailed the dagger, a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 7:17 left to give his team a 19-point lead. The Duke bench erupted, Henderson let his arms levitate at midcourt and flashed a smile to the Duke supporters behind press row, and Singler made sure to hold the follow-through, cocking his wrist toward the area in Cameron Indoor Stadium where this year's team will hang its banner.
Check back later for a full game story, analysis, photos and more.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.