By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
DURHAM ó With ESPN cameras documenting Stephen Curry’s every move inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, Davidson threatened to deliver a fairy-tale ending.
Duke held off a second-half charge from Curry’s Wildcats and claimed a 79-67 victory Wednesday night.
The second-ranked Blue Devils (13-1) led by 25 points with 12 minutes remaining, but Davidson (10-3) cut its deficit to eight with 3:53 left.
Duke went to its spread attack and secured two offensive rebounds on a possession that lasted more than a minute. Lance Thomas, a 51-percent shooter from the line, drew a foul following a board with 2:43 left.
“All was good in Krzyzewskiville,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “All of a sudden the clouds came and the wind and it’s eight points and Lance is on the line. How the hell did that happen?
“Bad story. The story’s gonna end bad.”
Thomas didn’t let it. He drilled both ends of a one-and-one to complete a sequence Krzyzewski deemed the game’s biggest.
Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler scored 22 points apiece to lead Duke, which defended Curry with seven of the eight players in its rotation.
The Blue Devils switched on every screen involving Curry, who faced opposition from every Duke regular but center Brian Zoubek and totaled 29 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the field.
Singler, Thomas and fellow forward David McClure had extended opportunities to guard Curry on the perimeter.
“I think their help defense allows them to do that,” Curry said. “If they create a mismatch where I’m guarded by a big guy, I usually try to take them off the dribble. If I see another guy right behind him in the second line of defense, it’s tough to create something.
“They’re really good if they can switch and take away the initial shot. When you drive, they’re right there to help and make you make a tough decision.”
The Duke player guarding Davidson’s inbounder often provided token pressure to assist point guard Nolan Smith as Curry dribbled across halfcourt.
The Wildcats trailed 16-10 before Curry attempted his first shot, and he was 0-for-4 with four turnovers as the Blue Devils established a 22-12 lead. He made a layup on Davidson’s next possession, which ended with six minutes remaining in the half.
“That was probably some of the best defense we could play,” Thomas said. “And the game was still close. That should tell you how dangerous that team is.”
Duke led 37-24 at the break and scored the first eight points of the second half. Curry scored 12 of his team’s 18 points in a 41/2-minute stretch that erased half of Duke’s sizeable advantage.
The Wildcats were behind 63-38 before Curry accounted for seven points in an 11-0 run. He stormed down the lane for a dunk, made a layup after picking Greg Paulus’ pocket and capped the run with a step-back 3-pointer.
“He’s a hell of a player, and he’s just never out of it,” Krzyzewski said. “All the attention you give him does create stuff for other people.”
Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils gave up more layups against Davidson than they’d allowed in their first 13 games combined. Andrew Lovedale (15 points, seven rebounds) had four second-half blocks, including one with the Wildcats trailing 69-59.
Lovedale made a layup at the other end, prompting Duke to burn a timeout. Scheyer and Thomas came up with critical offensive rebounds, and the Blue Devils pushed their lead back to a comfortable margin.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years against Duke,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “They expose you; they undress you. Unless you stay in the center ring and fight from the center of the ring instead of backpedaling and getting caught on the ropes, you’re never going to be successful against Duke.
“What they do, they do it for 40 minutes. That’s what makes them the program they are, the team they are.”