Duke cruises behind Singler, Scheyer
February 28, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP)—With a showdown at Maryland for the ACC titlelooming, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer gave No. 5 Duke exactly what it needed onSunday night—a big lead and a chance to cruise to the finish.
Singler scored 21 points and Scheyer had 20 and both watched the lastseveral minutes from the bench as the Blue Devils cruised to a 67-49 victoryagainst shorthanded Virginia.
More than getting to rest in a lopsided game, Singler said “it was moreimportant that we all played pretty well and (we’ll) have good momentum goinginto the Maryland game.”
The Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won eightstraight and will arrive in College Park, Md., with a one-game lead over theTerrapins.
Duke took command right away, opening the game on a 20-4 run. Singler had 11points before Virginia had two field goals, and the Cavaliers never got closerthan 10. They trailed 35-21 at halftime and went the first 5 minutes without afield goal after the break.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski called the victory “a workmanlike performance” andScheyer said he’s pleased with where the Blue Devils are heading into theirbiggest game of the season.
“I think we’re in a good place now,” he said. “We’ve improved a lotoverall. … Our defense is really good and it’s been a strength all year. Weneed to keep getting better.”
Getting them rest in the game was not a priority, Krzyzewski said.
“I rest my guys in practice,” he said. “Playing time, in the games, isreally irrelevant. It’s what you do between games. Our practices this week,teamwise, were no more than 50 minutes. … That’s how you take care of yourguys. Guys want to play. They want to play.”
The Cavaliers (14-13, 5-9) lost their seventh straight and played withoutscoring leader Sylven Landesberg, who sustained a bruised right thigh inVirginia’s loss at Miami last week.
“He couldn’t really go,” first-year Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett said.“If we would have thrown him out there, it would have been bad for him and hecouldn’t have kept up.”
Jerome Meyinsse scored 21 points for Virginia, seven more than his previouscareer best, but was the only Cavaliers player to make up for Landesberg’smissing 17.4 points.
Mike Scott, the Cavaliers No. 2 scorer with a 12.8 average, went scorelessfor a second straight game, going 0 for 6 in just 12 minutes. He’s now 0 for 13in the past two games.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Bennett said of Scott’s struggles. “Ithought (Meyinsse) battled his butt off and he gave us some stuff and Mike, Ididn’t see it from Mike tonight.
“He just wasn’t himself in the last couple of games.”
Singler and Scheyer had an easy time offensively. Singler finished 6 for 10from the field and Scheyer was 8 for 14, and both coaches emptied their benchesfor the finish.
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