Hot shooting lifts No. 2 Blue Devils
DURHAM, N.C. -- It took a while, but Gerald Henderson and No. 2 Duke finally starting shooting well enough to impress even J.J. Redick.
Henderson scored 21 points, and the Blue Devils shot 76 percent in the second half of their 73-56 victory over North Carolina State on Tuesday.
Nolan Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers 30 seconds apart to start the decisive run for Duke (17-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
But it wasn't until Henderson took the game over by hitting jumpers and driving the lane for authoritative dunks that his teammates started to find the seams in the Wolfpack's defense.
"His play gave the team a big lift. When someone plays with that much assertiveness and confidence, it kind of feeds down to the whole team," forward Kyle Singler said.
With Redick -- the ACC's career scoring leader -- watching from behind the Duke bench, Singler scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Smith finished with 13 to help the Blue Devils overcome a horrible start. Their 20-for-26 shooting matched the best performance in a second half in nearly three decades under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley both scored 15 points for the Wolfpack (10-6, 1-3), which led much of the game but hit just one field goal over the final 7:45.
• No. 25 Illinois 67, Ohio State 49 -- At Champaign, Ill., Mike Tisdale scored 15 points as the Illini (16-3, 4-2 Big Ten) defeated the Buckeyes (13-4, 3-3), winning their first game this season with a national ranking.
It was Illinois' first win over Ohio State in six games. The Illini took the lead for good in the opening five minutes, then sealed the win with a 22-9 run in the second half.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
• Colorado State 67, Air Force 56 -- At Fort Collins, Colo., Jesse Carr scored 17 points to lead four Rams in double figures as Colorado State (7-12, 2-3 Mountain West) defeated the Falcons (9-9, 0-5).
Carr was 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and the Rams shot 50 percent (9-for-18) from beyond the arc.
Air Force's Matt Holland had a game-high 25 points. He hit 7 of 11 3-point attempts; the rest of the Falcons shot 2-for-12 from long range.
