Scheyer helps Devils top Purdue

AP photo

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Playing a scant 150 miles from his Northbrook, Ill., home, Duke guard Jon Scheyer showed Big Ten fans what they missed when he left the area to play college basketball.

Scheyer was on target from 3-point range, scored from the foul line and even played out of position at point guard when Nolan Smith got in foul trouble as No. 4-ranked Duke defeated ninth-ranked Purdue 76-60 in Tuesday night's marquee ACC-Big Ten Challenge game.

Behind 20 points from Scheyer, Duke built a 20-point, second-half lead, then used a late scoring burst by Kyle Singler to hold off a Boilermaker rally and improve to 10-0 all-time in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Two things had to happen for Duke to win in front of a spirited crowd at the Mackey Center. The Blue Devils had to match the physicality and defensive aggression of a Purdue team known for playing extremely hard.

Duke also needed somebody to shake that determined Boilermaker defense and rise above the ugliness of what was bound to be a sloppy game. The Blue Devil defense did its part.

Guard E'Twaun Moore, the leading Boilermaker scorer hailed as a Big Ten player of the year candidate by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, didn't score for the first time until just 10 minutes, 45 seconds remained in the game.

Scheyer and Singler, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, rose above the fray on offense for Duke. Scheyer, a junior who once poured in 21 points in 75 seconds in an incredible burst for Glenbrook North High near Chicago, scored 10 points in the first half at Purdue as the Blue Devils built a 36-28 halftime lead.

He made a 3-pointer and two free throws in the first five minutes of second half as the Blue Devils extended the lead into double digits.

When Scheyer moved to the point after Smith committed his fourth foul, Singler took over, making two 3-pointers in 82 seconds and a clinching, driving dunk with 1:53 remaining.