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7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
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Wednesday, December 6
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
57
vs
45
Holy Cross
No. 7 Duke Uses Second Half Surge To Defeat Holy Cross, 57-45
12/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. - Josh McRoberts and DeMarcus Nelson scored 13 points apiece and seventh-ranked Duke overcame a six-point halftime deficit to defeat Holy Cross, 57-45, in men's basketball action on Wednesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils improve to 8-1 on the year while the Crusaders fall to 6-3.
Duke now owns the nation's longest home winning streak against non-conference opponents at 47 as Oklahoma saw its 49-game run come to a close with a 67-51 loss to Villanova on Wednesday night in Norman. Utah State stands second on the current chart with 37 straight home wins versus non-conference competition. The Blue Devils last lost in Cameron Indoor Stadium to a non-league team on February 26, 2000 against St. John's (83-82). The longest such streak in school history was a 95-game effort that ended with a loss to Illinois on December 2, 1995.
Holy Cross led by a 28-22 count at intermission, holding the Blue Devils to just 32.0 percent (8-of-25) shooting from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. The 22 points marked the fewest by the Blue Devils in a first half since a 21-point outing against North Carolina on March 3, 1996.
Duke came out of intermission running, and Josh McRoberts' fast break dunk at the 16:56 mark knotted the contest at 30-30. After the Crusaders scored four straight points, the Blue Devils used a 13-0 run ? highlighted by three-pointers from Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson ? to take a 43-34 lead on a foul shot by Lance Thomas with 10:41 remaining.
Keith Simmons, the Patriot League's preseason player of the year choice, ended the spurt with a layup with 10:00 on the clock, but Henderson answered less than 30 seconds later with his second long bomb to push the lead back to 10 points at 46-36. Holy Cross would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Henderson finished with eight points and four rebounds while Thomas added a game-best eight boards. Jon Scheyer contributed five points, seven rebounds and three assists against just one turnover in 33 minutes of action.
Simmons paced Holy Cross with 13 points, even rebounds and four steals. The Crusaders made just three-of-16 (.188) three-point attempts on the evening and were seven-of-24 (.292) from the floor in the second half.
The Blue Devils have now held five opponents to under 50 points this season ? matching the most by a Duke team in a single-season in the Mike Krzyzewski Era. In addition, Duke held Holy Cross to just 17 second half points, giving the Blue Devils five halves this year yielding less than 20 points.
Duke remains at home to face George Mason on Saturday at 12 noon (ESPN).
Players Mentioned
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