News & Observer | newsobserver.com | 2008 NCAA Men's Bracket

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As the shot clock waned, Jon Scheyer dived and poked the ball to Gerald Henderson in a desperate attempt to preserve a Duke first-half possession.

Henderson picked up the ball and fired a 3-pointer that scored just before the shot clock buzzer sounded. In a brutally defensive first half Saturday at Florida State, those were the kind of difficult shots that somebody needed to make.

No. 2 Duke won 66-58 at the Donald L. Tucker Center because Henderson made those shots in the first half and Florida State couldn’t handle Duke’s speed in the early part of the second half.

Florida State (13-3, 0-1 ACC) starts the ACC’s biggest lineup with four players 6-foot-7 or taller, and used its size advantage to keep the Blue Devils from scoring in the lane. But Henderson used his quickness to score from the perimeter and in transition.

He scored 14 of his 25 points in the first half, which ended with Duke ahead 19-14 because his teammates shot a combined 1-for-12 from the field. In the first three minutes of the second half, Henderson soared for an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Nolan Smith on a set play, and sank another 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 31-17.

Duke (14-1, 2-0) had difficulty holding the Seminoles to one shot as they grabbed 14 first-half offensive rebounds, but Florida State couldn’t jam the ball in the basket, missing an incredible series of tip-in attempts. The Seminoles shot 5-for-26 from the field in the first half.

After quiet first halves, forward Kyle Singler and point guard Smith complemented Henderson as scorers after halftime as Duke led by as many as 25 points. Singler scored 13 of his 15 points and Smith had all his 12 points after halftime.

Florida State switched to a quicker lineup after trailing 46-21 with 12:20 remaining and rattled Duke’s guards. Smith and Scheyer combined for three turnovers in 75 seconds, and the Seminoles closed to within 51-42 when Toney Douglas made both ends of a one-and-one with 6:03 remaining.

But Duke milked the clock on the next two possessions, with Henderson scoring on a driving scoop shot off the glass and a pull-up jumper from the elbow to stretch the lead to 55-42 with 4:49 to play.