Davidson College Basketball

Duke holds off stubborn Davidson
From Staff and Wire Reports

CHARLOTTE - The Duke Blue Devils escaped Charlotte and a determined Davidson team this afternoon, beating the Wildcats 79-73.
The Wildcats harassed No. 7 Duke all afternoon, with Davidson guard Stephen Curry scoring 20 points.

The Wildcats pulled to 43-40 early in the second half. But, cutting the Wildcats' efforts was Duke guard Gerald Henderson, who blocked three shots and energized the Blue Devils in the second half.

Henderson scored 21 points and Greg Paulus had two key baskets and a steal in the final 2 minutes.

Jon Scheyer scored 15 points and Kyle Singler added 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-0), who needed big plays from Paulus down the stretch to extend their winning streak over Davidson to 21 straight.

Davidson (3-3) rallied from down 16 in the first half and 12 with 5 minutes to play, getting within 70-65 with 2:37 left.

Paulus then hit a 3-pointer, and after Stephen Curry hit a 3 at the other end, Paulus' baseline fadeaway with 32 seconds left gave Duke a 75-68 lead.

Paulus then stole the ball from Jason Richards, and Duke held on with Henderson's two free throws with 5.3 seconds left putting it away.

Curry scored 20 points despite playing the final 12 minutes with four fouls, and Richards added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Davidson, which also took top-ranked North Carolina to the wire just over two weeks ago.

Poor shooting did in Davidson again in its 23rd straight loss to a ranked team. The Wildcats hit eight of 24 3s, after shooting 4-of-22 from long range against the Tar Heels. Davidson also missed seven of 12 free throws.