[February 05, 2014]DURHAM, N.C. — It took some time,
but No. 11 Duke found the ideal tonic to recover from a tough-to-digest
result.
Forward Jabari Parker scored 21 points, but the Blue Devils were
slow to heat up before routing visiting Wake Forest 83-63 Tuesday
night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Guard Rasheed Sulaimon added 19 points, and guard Andre Dawkins came
off the bench to score 17 points, allowing the Blue Devils (18-5,
7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to shake off any potential hangover
from a loss in a wild game three nights earlier.
"I couldn't wait to play," Duke guard Tyler Thornton said. "That was
a rough loss up there (at Syracuse). Trying to get to our next game
was important to me."
Forward Devin Thomas scored 14 points for Wake Forest (14-9, 4-6),
which lost its third game in a row. Demon Deacons freshman guard
Miles Overton scored a season-best 12 points, and forward
Arnaud-William Adala Moto added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke stretched its home-court winning streak to 29 games, tied for
the longest run in the country.
The Blue Devils, who fell 91-89 in overtime Saturday in an epic
clash with unbeaten Syracuse, haven't suffered back-to-back
regular-season losses in five seasons. The setback to the Orange was
particularly disappointing.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils had to "beat the
emotion" of dealing with that result.
"All the plays from that game run through your mind," Thornton said.
"We wanted to get out there to have a good game and move forward."
Duke's depth appeared to be an important factor in the bounce-back
victory.
"It's keeping us fresh and everybody's ready," Duke guard Quinn Cook
said. "When their number is called, everybody steps up."
Duke, which made 15 shots from 3-point range at Syracuse, racked up
12 more Tuesday. Eight of those came in the first half.
"Every day after practice, we're getting off a lot of 3s, and it's
showing," Thornton said. "It's paying off."
Parker made eight of 10 shots from the field. He also grabbed a
team-high eight rebounds.
The Demon Deacons were within 74-57 when Thomas fouled out at the
5:02 mark.
Duke built a 46-33 halftime lead after trailing for chucks of the
opening half.
"They did a good job speeding up the court, and with the crowd
behind them, they really got going," Overton said. "We look forward
to playing them at home. There are games before that, and we've got
to get those."
Blue Devils forward Rodney Hood was scoreless until breaking a
28-28 tie with eight consecutive points. It was part of a 12-0 run
for Duke while Wake Forest was amid a stretch of turnovers on five
possessions in a row. The Demon Deacons called two timeouts during
that span.
"We hit a bad stretch there, and that gave them separation," Wake
Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "It shows you how important each and
every possession is."
Wake Forest went more than seven minutes without a field goal late
in the half after connecting on nine of 13 shots from the field to
start the game.
A couple of reserve guards had early impacts as well.
Dawkins scored nine consecutive points to tie the score at 16. He
posted 12 of the Blue Devils' first 22 points.
For Wake Forest, Overton hit three jumpers — including two
3-pointers — as his eight points helped the Demon Deacons take a
21-16 lead. Overton was within a point of his career-high total less
than seven minutes into the game.
Dawkins and Sulaimon combined for 22 of Duke's first 24 points.
Wake Forest led 7-2 with Thomas scoring the first seven points for
the Demon Deacons.
Both teams altered their starting lineups, with Thornton in the mix
ahead of Cook for Duke.
Wake Forest went with Adala Moto instead of forward Tyler Cavanaugh.
Madison Jones shifted to point guard with guard Codi Miller-McIntyre
out due to an ankle injury, while guard Coron Williams entered the
starting lineup.
Cavanaugh, who scored less than six points per game in the last four
outings, was a reserve for the first time this season. He finished
with nine points.
NOTES: Wake Forest G Codi Miller-McIntyre, who suffered a right
ankle injury Saturday against Georgia Tech, sat out Tuesday night.
He is the team's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game. ... Duke
won for the eighth consecutive time in the series, which reached 240
games with Tuesday night's matchup. It is the most-played series for
both teams. ... Despite losing to newly No. 1-ranked Syracuse on
Saturday night, Duke jumped six spots in the rankings to No. 11. ...
Duke F Jabari Parker has been selected ACC Rookie of the Week six
times this season. ... Tuesday marked the only home game during a
five-game stretch for Duke, which visits Boston College on Saturday
night. ... Wake Forest is off for a week before a trip to North
Carolina State, which lost 70-69 to the Demon Deacons last month.
