No. 5 Duke rides Singler past Virginia
February 28, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP)—Kyle Singler scored 21 points as No. 5 Duke beatshorthanded Virginia 67-49 on Sunday night.
The Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) remained a game aheadof Maryland heading into a first-place showdown with the Terps in College Park,Md., on Wednesday night.
Jon Scheyer added 20 points for Duke in its eight straight win and fourthconsecutive victory in the series.
The Blue Devils took command right away, opening the game on a 20-4 run.Singler had 11 points before Virginia had two field goals, and from there theCavaliers never got closer than 10. They trailed 35-21 at halftime and went 5minutes without a field goal after the break.
The Cavaliers (14-13, 5-9) lost their seventh straight playing withoutscoring leader Sylven Landesberg, who sustained a bruised right thigh inVirginia’s loss at Miami last week.
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 points. Mike Scott, the Cavaliers No. 2 scorer with a 12.8 average, wentscoreless for a second straight game, with 0-for-6 shooting in 12 minutes.
Singler and Scheyer had an easy time offensively. Singler finished 6 for 10from the field and Scheyer was 8 for 14, and both watched for the last severalminutes as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Virginia coach Tony Bennett emptiedtheir benches.