02/07/2008 - Duke Sports Information

By Ken Tysiac, McClatchy Newspapers (Special to the AP)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -  Greg Paulus swished a 3-pointer, then pointed at his Duke teammates, who jumped off the bench in encouragement.

In a sea of Carolina blue, the guys in the black jerseys were the only ones cheering as second-ranked Duke made 13 3-pointers Wednesday in an 89-78 defeat of No.3 North Carolina at the Smith Center.

Though North Carolina center Tyler Hansbrough dominated in the post with 28 points, Duke penetrated for easy baskets and kicked out to open teammates on the perimeter at will to break a three-game losing streak in the series.

"They got any shot they wanted," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams.

"I don't know how many times tonight our defense dictated the shot they got."

With North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson out with a sprained left ankle suffered Sunday at Florida State, Paulus scored all 18 of his points on 3-pointers.

Jon Scheyer added 17 points off the bench for Duke, and Blue Devils sophomore Gerald Henderson raised both fists in the air at the buzzer. Henderson was taunted by fans because of a foul in the closing seconds of last year's game at the Smith Center.

Henderson scored 12. Six Duke players scored 10 or more.

"It was a long game," Henderson said. "I don't know how many minutes I played, but I was pretty exhausted at the end, and I know we went out there and fought. To hear the buzzer sound at the end and us be on top, it's a great feeling."

The win gave Duke (20-1, 8-0 ACC) a two-game lead atop the ACC standings with the rematch with North Carolina (21-2, 6-2) to be held March8 in Durham. Duke also gained an edge in the competition for the critical No.1 seed for the East Regional to be held in Charlotte at Bobcats Arena.

About 15 minutes before tip-off, North Carolina sports information director Steve Kirschner shouted out the verdict on Lawson in the media room.

"It was really an easy decision," Williams said. "I told him if he had doubts about it, I wasn't going to play him."

Senior Quentin Thomas started in Lawson's place and scored 10 points with a game-high seven assists. Thomas also committed six of North Carolina's 20 turnovers and struggled on defense.

Alone at a table in the team lounge after the game, Thomas bitterly critiqued his game.

"I played horrible," Thomas said. "I just want to apologize to my team for playing like that."

The turnovers allowed Duke to win despite being outrebounded 49-38. North Carolina and Hansbrough cut an 11-point, first-half deficit to one early in the second half.

But Duke and its hot shooters didn't relinquish the lead.

"You just find different ways to win," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "and because we have versatile players, they are able to do that."