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Duke at Florida State

Henderson drives No. 2 Devils past Seminoles
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Duke's Gerald Henderson was just about the only player on target Saturday, and that was the difference for the Blue Devils.

The 6-foot-4 junior swingman scored a career-high 25 points, leading the second-ranked Blue Devils to a 66-58 victory at Florida State.

Duke (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) ran off the first nine points of the second half during a 41-11 run to build their largest lead of the game, 46-21 with 12:45 left.

Toney Douglas led Florida State (13-3, 0-1) with 18 points, but was just 7-for-23 from the floor as the Seminoles shot just 31 percent.

"We struggled all night against their pressure," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We drove the ball hard into the lane, but couldn't execute. We had periods where we just didn't execute well offensively."

The first half was believed to be one of the lowest scoring in the ACC since a 45-second shot clock was introduced in the 1985-86 season. It was later cut to 35 seconds.

Duke led 19-14 at the break, making just five field goals -- one on a goaltending call to go along with four baskets by Henderson. Florida State scored only four points in the final 13:07 of the half, going scoreless for seven minutes, 58 seconds at one stretch.

In the second half, the Blue Devils went 7:14 without a basket until Henderson's layup with 5:31 left gave Duke a 53-42 lead.

"His athletic ability to create shots was huge," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "When they (Florida State) got it down to 10 (points), toward the last 15 seconds on the (shot) clock, we got the ball to him four straight times and we scored."

Derwin Kitchen scored 16 points and Uche Echefu 10 to get Florida State back into the game in the final minutes. Both players scored all of their points in the final 13 minutes as the Seminoles pulled to single digits, 51-42, with 6:03 left on a pair of free throws by Douglas.

Henderson's 9-for-14 shooting helped Duke shoot 42.9 percent from the field. Kyle Singler chipped in with 15 points for the winners and Nolan Smith added a dozen more.

"When you go against height and a bigger team, you have to use your quickness," Henderson said. "I was able to come from the wing and make plays in the lane, either the pull-up or get to the rack. That's a strength to my game."

Henderson didn't have anything to prove to Hamilton.

"He made us pay every time we made a defensive mistake on him," Hamilton said.

"He's a smart, talented player," Hamilton added. "And he had an exceptional game."

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
 
 
Duke has to rely heavily on Gerald Henderson, who scores a career high in a defensive struggle.  (AP)
Duke has to rely heavily on Gerald Henderson, who scores a career high in a defensive struggle. (AP)

 
Scoreboard
Duke #2 (14-1) «194766
Florida State (13-3)144458
DUKE:Gerald Henderson 25 Pts
DUKE:David McClure 6 Reb
DUKE:Jon Scheyer 3 Ast
FLST:T. Douglas 18 Pts
FLST:S. Alabi 9 Reb
FLST:D. Dulkys 3 Ast
 
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Florida StateDuke
FLST
D. Kitchen
DUKE
G. Henderson
PtsRebsAstPtsRebsAst
16522550
Duke Blue Devils
J. Scheyer, G381-77-112309
G. Henderson, G-F349-144-650025
K. Singler, F345-103-650415
N. Smith, G293-66-641212
B. Zoubek, C140-12-23112
L. Thomas, F230-21-23041
D. McClure, F150-01-46121
E. Williams, G70-11-20011
G. Paulus, G60-10-00000
M. Pocius, GDid Not Play
J. Davidson, GDid Not Play
S. Johnson, FDid Not Play
M. Plumlee, FDid Not Play
O. Czyz, FDid Not Play
Totals 18-4225-392861466
 42.9%64.1% 
Florida State Seminoles
T. Douglas, G387-232-240518
C. Singleton, F343-80-23056
R. Reid, F220-30-02000
S. Alabi, C162-60-09004
J. DeMercy, F151-80-04242
D. Kitchen, G316-153-452116
U. Echefu, F212-46-660410
D. Dulkys, G130-10-02320
L. Loucks, G70-20-02020
X. Gibson, F-C20-00-00010
B. Hoff, G11-10-03002
P. Jordan, GDid Not Play
Totals 22-7111-144072458
 31.0%78.6% 
ACC
TeamConf. W-LTot. W-L
North Carolina14-232-6
Duke13-327-7
Florida St.12-425-10
Virginia9-722-10
N.C. State9-724-13
Miami (Fla.)9-720-13
Clemson8-816-15
Maryland6-1017-15
Virginia Tech4-1216-17
Wake Forest4-1213-18
Georgia Tech4-1211-20
Boston College4-129-22
 
Other games
Louisville 61 Final
NOVA 60
NCST 51 Final
CLEM 63
Tenn 86 Final
Georgia 77
W Virg 53 Final
MARQET 75
PROV 75 Final
GTOWN 82
Kansas 62 Final
Mich St 75
Oklahoma 61 Final
K-State 53
TXTECH 61 Final
Baylor 73
Oregon 58 Final
Ariz St 76
Detroit 50 Final
Butler 54
SETON 79 Final
ND 88
Iowa St 67 Final
Texas 75
UConn 81 Final
Cincinnati 72
Miami-FL 77 Final
BC 71
Syracuse 82 Final
RUT 66