Boston College
Duke
Eagles Lose 75-61 at No. 10 Duke
January 28, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2007
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DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - DeMarcus Nelson scored 17 points to lead No. 10 Duke past Boston College 75-61 on Sunday.
Josh McRoberts had 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Blue Devils (18-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won five straight games since an 0-2 league start. Duke has won the past six meetings, including all three since the Eagles joined the ACC.
Jared Dudley scored 17 points to lead the Eagles (14-6, 6-2), who fell out of first place in the league.
The game was a rematch of last year's ACC tournament championship, with Duke winning both meetings that season by two points. This time, the Blue Devils built a 10-point lead early in the second half and maintained control of the contest by shutting down the Eagles with their pressure defense.
Duke shot 50 percent while holding Boston College to 35 percent and taking a 41-30 edge on the boards. The Blue Devils had their best success against Sean Marshall, who came in as the Eagles' third-leading scorer at better than 16 points per game.
Marshall had averaged nearly 21 points in his previous nine games and was coming off a 22-point game against Florida State in which he hit the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. But the 6-foot-6 senior struggled to his second straight miserable showing against the Blue Devils, finishing with seven points on 2-for-11 shooting with four turnovers.
In last year's 78-76 loss to Duke in the ACC championship, Marshall finished with two points on 1-for-4 shooting with four fouls in 20 minutes.
The Blue Devils took control by scoring eight straight points spanning halftime, getting baskets from Nelson on three straight possessions to close the half with a 40-32 lead. Duke opened the second half with a stickback from Lance Thomas to push the margin to 42-32.
Boston College couldn't manage much of a push afterward, hanging around though never seriously threatening. Their best push came when Dudley hit a 3 to make it 46-41, but Jon Scheyer answered with a 3 and David McClure drove around John Oates on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to double figures with 14:39 left.
Boston College got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Thomas, a 6-8 freshman, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench. But the Blue Devils took a hit when fellow reserve McClure, who hit the winning layup at the buzzer Thursday against Clemson, suffered an apparent left knee injury when he went down in a scramble with six minutes left. McClure clutched his knee - the same one that required surgery and forced him to redshirt last season - on the court for several minutes before being helped to the sideline. He did not return.
At halftime, the school retired the No. 23 jersey of former all-American Shelden Williams, a two-time national defensive player of the year. The 6-foot-9 forward finished his four-year career as the school's all-time leader in blocks and rebounds before being the fifth overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in last summer's NBA draft. Williams is the 12th player to have his jersey retired by the school.
