Feb. 10, 2010
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP)--Jon Scheyer scored 24 points and eighth-ranked Duke pulled away in the final minutes to beat North Carolina 64-54 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Singler added 19 points for the Blue Devils (20-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot poorly all night and couldn't make much of anything in close. But boasting a bigger and tougher front line than in years past, Duke dominated the boards and got plenty of extra looks to make up for all those misses.
Duke hit nine 3-pointers, but shot 32 percent overall and went 13 for 51 (25 percent) from inside the arc.
North Carolina (13-11, 2-7) has lost eight of 10 since the start of 2010, including four in a row overall to fall near the bottom of the league standings.
Will Graves scored 13 points to lead the Tar Heels.
The rivalry game might have lost some luster this time around due to North Carolina's struggles and Duke looking like a good, but hardly great, team. Both schools had been ranked in the top 10 in the past four meetings, but North Carolina--which started the season at No. 6 and as co-ACC favorite with Duke-- fell out of the poll two weeks ago.
Still, this one ended up fitting right in with college basketball's fiercest rivalry when it came to intensity and fight. Neither team led by more than six points in the first 30 minutes and they were tied with about 8 minutes left before the Blue Devils finally took control.
Duke finished with a 51-42 rebounding advantage and converted 23 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points, baskets that repeatedly drained the momentum building when the Tar Heels appeared on the verge of a defensive stop.
It was a satisfying win for the Blue Devils, who had lost six of seven meetings during a stretch that seemed to signal a shift in power between the programs back to the light blue in Chapel Hill. North Carolina has won two national championships, including last year in Detroit, since Duke last went to a Final Four in 2004.
In addition, Duke's win came on a night when the Tar Heels retired the No. 50 jersey of four-year star Tyler Hansbrough, who graduated as the storied program's leading scorer and rebounder, as well as the top scorer in ACC history.
