Duke 99
St. John's 57

February 24, 2002.  

Cameron Indoor Stadium.

   Duke repeated a scenario enacted in the recent NC State game, wherein their early effort on the boards is weak and their defense way too loose. Then the Devils flipped the "on" switch and suddenly the Red Storm was reduced to a drizzle.  The last thirteen minutes of the first half were also eerily similar to the Wake game in W-S, except that St. John's couldn't   even get to the foul line.  The concept of a 35-1 run is difficult to grasp, but each SJU miss and every Duke make seemed to increase the chances of both on the next possession.  During that span, St John's missed 11 shots and had 12 turnovers and even were just 1-3 from the line.  Duke made 14 field goals and missed just 7, and had 6 steals.  Williams had 14 points in the stretch and Boozer had 12 as Duke relentlessly attacked the basket.

   It's always nice to step out of conference at this time of year, because the familiarity of the ACC opponents can breed a certain degree of lethargy, especially for a team whose collective mind has been drifting towards the NCAA tournament all season.  St John's was an interesting opponent, one that would be a decent challenge because of their athleticism.  The Johnnies were #35 in the RPI and had easily beaten Wake Forest earlier in the year, as well as Miami and UConn.  A win here would have meant a lot for their NCAA chances, and they certainly brought a different look to Cameron with their early, attacking style.

   Their star guard Marcus Hatten started off with a three.  He's an interesting player because he's so integral to their success--when he scores over 22 points a game, the team is 9-1.  Duke immediately locked in on him, and Hatten did not score again in the half.  Most of his 14 points came in garbage time.  The Devils had a bit of trouble controlling everyone else on the team, however.  Jones drove and hit a short jumper to cut into the lead, but a short jumper after a rebound made it 5-2 SJU.       Dahntay followed up a Boozer miss with a spectacular rebound dunk, but center Donald Emmanuel stepped outside for a three to make it 8-4.  A couple of Duke misses led to an Eric King basket, but Jones scored again for  Duke, this time tipping in another Boozer miss. 

   The teams exchanged baskets, with Boozer finally getting a hook shot to drop, but the Red Storm were extremely crisp and scored again to make it 14-8 with sixteen minutes left in the half.  This was shades of the Bootsy Thornton games of 1999-2000, where great outside shooting by St. John's doomed Duke.  Duke finally got a rebound and Chris Duhon drove the lane, scoring and getting fouled.  He hit the crucial foul shot to complete the three point play, but an offensive rebound and steal & runout made the score 18-11--Duke's biggest deficit of the game.  Williams finally got a shot to drop by driving and sinking a 10' jumper, but another St. John's offensive putback left the score at 20-13 with thirteen minutes left in the half.

   That's when the Total Scoring Blackout occured for St. John's.  That  would be 0 fields in the rest of the half and that magical 35-1 run.  The run actually had a few distinct components.  It started with Jason driving and scoring and was followed by SJU missing 2 in a row.  After a Boozer foul shot, Duhon stole the ball and passed ahead to Boozer for a dunk.  Another turnover led to Duhon feeding Boozer yet again for a score.  Suddenly, the game was tied at 20-20 and Duke was feeling it.  The next couple of minutes were a stalemate as Duke missed 4 shots and turned the ball over once, and the Johnnies missed 3 times and turned the ball over 3 times.  There was a sense that whoever fought hardest to go ahead might hold the lead for awhile.  Finally, Duhon drove and spotted Dan Ewing on the wing, and Dan hit a three.  That shot seemed to really drain SJU of their energy, because Dunleavy swooped in to grab an errant pass and take it in for a Duke.  With over seven minutes left in the half, Duke had a 25-20 lead as St John's took a time-out.

   They responded by turning the ball over right away, and Duke unleashed a haymaker of a play: a backscreen set up Jason going back door for an alley- oop dunk on a Duhon feed.  That drove the crowd nuts and was rather dispiriting for St. John's--especially since they were beaten by a "city" move.  When Anthony Glover missed 2 free throws, Duke could sense that this team was playing back on its heels and continued to press the action. Jones, after picking up an offensive foul earlier in the game, drove and pulled up from 10' to make it 29-20.  Williams then rebounded his own missed three and stuck it back in to push the lead to 11.  Jones missed a shot and Boozer dropped it back in, reversing roles from earlier in the game.

   After a timeout, Hatten promptly got his pocket picked by Duhon, who  got an easy runout.  Boozer then got a steal and passed to Williams, who was fouled.  Jason hit the first and missed the second, but Boozer grabbed the rebound and was fouled.  He missed the second freebie and St. John's rebounded, but had the ball stolen by Dunleavy, who passed ahead to Jones. Dahntay zoomed to the basket and stopped short, sinking a soft 5' jumper. The Red Storm finally got back on the scoreboard with a free throw, making the score 39-21 with two minutes left.  Duke didn't want a St. John's comeback, and finished the half strong.

   Williams took matters into his own hands first, driving by the skinnier Red Storm guards and powering inside.  Two more SJU misses saw Duhon grabbing a rebound and flinging it downcourt to Boozer for an easy finish. Another Red Storm turnover led to Boozer getting a couple of free throws. Finally, when St. John's turned the ball over with 27 seconds left in the half, Duke ran the clock down and Duhon found Williams in the corner, where he nailed a three to give Duke a 48-21 halftime lead.  Simply astonishing. 

   The second half began on an ominous note for the Johnnies as Dunleavy got yet another steal and took off for an easy dunk.  Finally, the Red Storm got a field goal, nearly 14 minutes after their last one.  Duke wasn't through being fancy though, as a Williams drive led to a quick pass to Dunleavy who tossed a no-look pass to Boozer for another dunk. The teams actually traded baskets for a minute, though Duke still led 54-27.  A Boozer layup was matched by a King layup, but a Horvath tip-in followed by a Williams drive made it 60-27 with fifteen minutes left. St. John's was definitely playing better, but Duke certainly wasn't letting up.

   The next five minutes of the half were actually won 9-7 but St John's, thanks to a 7-2 run.  Dahntay drove to break up the run, and Williams sank a three that cast aside any illusions SJU might have been harboring about making a comeback.  At the ten minute mark, it was 67-38 in favor of the Blue Devils.  Duke regained their dominance in the next five minutes, outscoring St. John's 20-8 as Coach K was using some different lineups.  Sitting down Boozer and Williams, he had Horvath, Ewing and Sanders out there with the other starters to see what they could do. As it turns out, it was quite a bit.  Jones scored and got an "and 1"  going to the basket, while Ewing threw an alley-oop pass that Sanders managed to catch and guide into the basket.  Dahntay then hit a long jumper before Williams came back in to get a steal and toss it downcourt to Ewing for an easy jam.  When Jason pulled up and stuck a three with five minutes to go, it was time to clear the bench.

   Interestingly enough, Mike Jarvis kept his starters in against the Duke deep reserves and was still outscored down the stretch 10-5.  The bench played about as well as I've ever seen them, truly playing as a group, hustling on defense and converting open looks.  Andre Buckner   and Mark Causey deserve special mention, because both worked like lunatics on defense and were aggressive going to the basket.  The second half was all about maintaining good habits and continuing to work hard, and Duke was quite successful in those areas.  This game showed off the offensive firepower and defensive potential that this team has.  It doesn't always show it and has been streaky at times, but when everyone on the team is on the same page, the results are electrifying.  This is one performance to bottle.

  ** Negatives:  

1. Blocking out.  St John's missed 41 shots but had 17 offensive rebounds, including several in the early going that gave them their lead.  Duke concentrated on blocking them out the rest of the half and battered them by quickly generating fast breaks after rebounds.  

2. Early-game intensity.  Boozer missed his first 3 shots and Williams missed his first 2, leading to a sort of lethargy on defense where everyone sort of stood around for a bit.  Duke has been a little schizy  at times this year--they either start out with guns blazing or take a few minutes to click.  Once they lock in, however, they tend to stay on  task, because their halfcourt execution is so good.   

  ** Positives:  

1. Pressure defense.  Duke's forcing so many turnovers in the first half  was the key to the win.  In particular, Duhon's defense on Marcus Hatten was his best job all year.  Hatten clearly was not used to that level of defensive pressure, which is interesting because before the game a St John's player claimed that his team had the edge because they were much more physical than Duke on defense.  Boozer also played very physical defense against the quick Donald Emmanuel, turning him into little more than a  jump-shooter.  

2. Offensive rebounding.  This was a big key early in the game as Jones kept Duke in it by getting a couple of rebound baskets.  Boozer also had a tip-in and was fouled after grabbing another o-board.     

3. Attacking the basket.  Unlike in the Wake Forest game, Duke's shot was just not going down from long range.  So Duke adjusted and went to the hoop as much as possible and took some short-range jumpers.  The plan worked perfectly, and became even more effective when Duke got its fast break going.

    Player-by-Player:  

  ** Boozer: Excellent game for Carlos, who did the job at both ends.  On the defensive end, he grabbed 6 rebounds, blocked a shot and grabbed 2 steals.  On offense, he was a huge target, getting great passes from his teammates and finishing again and again.  After missing 4 of his first 5 shots and turning it over once, he hit his last 7 attempts and had no further miscues.  He scored running the floor, on a hook-shot, and on power-ups after great post feeds.  He also led Duke with a remarkable 5 offensive rebounds, including a tip-in basket.  There are times when he really makes it look easy out there, because his size, hands & strength can be overpowering. But it's his skill level that makes him so effective for Duke.     

  ** Dunleavy:  A quiet game offensively for Mike, but he did a very good job at the defensive end and on the boards.  Oddly, his only two field goals came on steal and runout plays--he didn't get a single jumper to drop. He and Boozer were dominant on the boards, combining for 21 in the game with Mike getting most of them in the first half.  Mike's defense was as impressive as the job that Eric King did on him--he had 3 steals in the first half as he prowled the passing lanes.  Like most of Duke's players, he also found Carlos for a couple of baskets--the whole team was focused on getting it inside to Boozer.     

  ** Jones:  Dahntay was huge early on, scoring Duke's first 6 points of the game, with two of the baskets as putbacks.  His in-game adjustment  of using the short jumper instead of going straight to the rack proved crucial, because SJU didn't really know how to guard him when he did this.  It worked, getting a couple of short jumpers late in the half because his opponents were waiting for him under the basket.  In the second half, this success from mid-range opened things up for him  considerably, as he was able to score on three drives, including a  three point play.  For good measure, he was able to shut down Anthony Glover, holding him to 1-5 shooting and forcing 3 turnovers.  This was just another solid performance from Dahntay, who has been playing quite well for the last two months, with the exception of the Maryland game.      

  ** Williams:  After a frigid first five minutes, Jason became Jason again and was scoring in a variety of ways.  After a 2-5 start, he  finished 8-12, including 3-7 from three.  He scored all 14 of his first half points in the last thirteen minutes, and 10 in the last 6:50.  Many of them were in the spectacular family, like that alley-oop he's been waiting to throw down for the better part of the last two years, and that three he hit at the end of the half.  He was 4-6 in the second half, sinking a couple of threes and continuing to wreak havoc on defense. Once Jason got going off the dribble, St. John's didn't know what to do with him.  Like Jones, he set up his drives by sinking some 10' jumpers, keeping the defense off balance.  Jason was also solid from the foul line, hitting 75%.  He only had 1 assist, but he was pretty much in "I will break you" mode in the way he was attacking the Red Storm.  Jason was relaxed and in control the whole way through.  

  ** Duhon: Chris had an important early score and ran the team well, but once again his shot seems to have left him.  He was 0-3 from long range but did hit a crucial runner for a three point play in the early going. He had another drive goaltended and had an impressive steal and layup that continued Duke's dominant first half run.  Where Chris really excelled in this game was on defense and running the team.  His first assist was to Ewing for a three that gave Duke its first lead.  He then threw a perfect lob pass to Williams and later threw a strike to Boozer in transition. Duke did something a bit different at the end of the half and it involved Duhon.  Instead of putting the ball in Jason's hands and letting him create (which has not worked so well of late), Chris handled the ball and found Jason in the corner for a three.  That forced the other team to focus all of their attention on someone other than Jason and freed him up to roam around, knowing that Chris would get him the ball.  Chris also did a good job at keeping Boozer happy, getting the ball to him in perfect position a couple of more times in the second half.  His defense on Hatten speaks for itself: 4-15 shooting and 6 turnovers.  Chris had 3 steals alone in what amounted to a total disruption of the St John's offensive game plan.  Chris is still turning the ball over too much (3 in this game) though he is taking some decent chances.  Seeing him drive more would also be good for the offense--note his success in penetration in this game.  I do sense that a breakout game for Chris on offense is in the future.   

  ** Ewing: Dan didn't put up huge numbers, but he has a knack lately for being an excellent catalyst.  He hit Duke's first three twelve minutes into the game, played good defense and grabbed an offensive rebound.  He tossed up a lob pass to Sanders for a dunk and was the recipient of a  pass from Williams for a fast break slam.  Dan also had a couple of  late turnovers and fouled a bit too much, but the energy he adds to the team is palpable.  He's doing everything for his team that a freshman should.    

  ** Horvath:  Nick did well in his first stint in the game, getting a  couple of important defensive rebounds at a point where Duke was still down.  He kept his rebounding up in the second half, getting a stickback. He missed a couple of free throws but kept his fouling under control for the most part.  Not a high-impact showing but certainly a positive one. Nick won't be needed for big minutes, but rather brief but productive appearances in games.     

  ** Sanders:  Casey played pretty well.  He got some spot minutes in the first half but played quite a bit in the second.  His highlight-reel play was an alley-oop slam on a pass from Ewing that actually slipped out of his hands as he was coming down but still went in anyway.  Casey also had an offensive board and a block.  

  ** Love: Reggie missed on a short jumper but picked up a couple of offensive rebounds.    

  ** Christensen: Matt came out with a vengeance, grabbing an offensive rebound and slamming home a pass from Causey.    

  ** Means: Means confidently stroked a three and chased down a Horvath miss.  He looked smoother out there than I'd ever seen him--practice has made him a better player.  

  ** Buckner:  Andre played like a lunatic out there, attacking the basket and even pulling up for a three.  He passed to Means for a three, Causey for a short jumper and had a steal and layup that closed out Duke's scoring.    

  ** Causey:  In terms of efficiency, Mark had quite a game.  He pulled up and hit a 15' jumper, dished to Christensen inside and had a big block and rebound of a St John's basket at the end of the game.  As I've noted  before, Mark is a very skilled player and a valuable asset in practice.  

  ** Cameron Craziness:  The crowd was a bit small, which was disappointing. During Duke's comeback, the roar was incredible and contributed to the run.  The most fun moment was when Duhon went after a loose ball and flew into the crowd, who managed to deposit him in a rather undignified fashion back on the floor.  It's hard to believe that there's only one more home game left, but with UNC coming in the crowd will be in fine voice.

  ** Next Game: February 28th vs Virginia.  The Hoos gave Duke a good tussle in their first go-round, and they will be desperate for a win in Charlottesville.  A win over Duke would greatly bolster their tourney hopes that are now fading fast.  A big key: The Hoos haven't been hitting from the perimeter and so have been zoned by every team they've played, but Duke doesn't play zone.  We'll see how that plays itself out.  The real key for Duke is offensive rebounding.  Virginia has a lot of live young bodies who go hard to the boards, and keeping them away will likely cement a number of defensive stands for Duke.  Duke lost to pretty much the same team last year, so it's crucial that they don't take this game lightly.   

      Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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