DURHAM -- After Long Beach State halved a Duke lead that had been 26 points, Blue Devil guard Nolan Smith looked for backcourt partner Jon Scheyer.
Scheyer came off a baseline screen in the corner, and Smith whipped the ball to him for a 3-pointer. One minute, 42 seconds later Smith drove and passed to the opposite side of the court to Scheyer for another 3-pointer.
The guard-to-guard threes restored a 19-point lead with 5:41 remaining for No. 7-ranked Duke in another steady performance in an 84-63 win Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Smith and Scheyer were the catalysts of a drive-and-kick offense that collapsed Long Beach State's defense and helped Duke shoot 15-for-26 from 3-point range after a 10-day holiday break.
Scheyer scored 22 points and made six 3-pointers. Smith added 19 points and four 3-pointers. Both guards handed out seven assists without a turnover as the Blue Devils improved to 10-1.
"When we share the ball like that, we'll have some good opportunities," Scheyer said. "I don't think we even shot as well as we could've with the amount of good looks that we got."
Long Beach State (6-7) was well tested against quality competition after playing an early schedule that included West Virginia, Clemson, Texas and Kentucky. Duke jumped out to a big advantage early, leading 42-16 with 3:53 remaining in the first half after the second of two 3-pointers in 26 seconds by freshman Andre Dawkins.
In the second half, Long Beach State recovered and displayed the tenacity that tested Kentucky well into the second half of an 86-73 loss in Lexington, Ky., six days earlier.
But Scheyer and Smith finished off a Long Beach State team whose coach, Dan Monson, also was impressed with Duke's size as the home team blocked a season-high 10 shots. Mason Plumlee blocked four shots in 12 minutes and Brian Zoubek added three blocks to go along with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils.
Long Beach State shot just 36.1 percent from the field.
"Our bigs just aren't big enough for this level," Monson said. "We couldn't finish over their size."
The double-digit win sets up Duke to finish strong in the nonconference portion of its schedule. Duke has won four in a row, with only lowly Penn (0-8) remaining on Thursday before conference play begins Sunday at home against Clemson.
The Blue Devils breezed into the holiday break with a 76-41 defeat of then-15th-ranked Gonzaga on Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden. One of Duke's few disappointments during that game was its failure to make a 3-point shot in the first half.
Duke made up for that with nine 3-pointers on 15 attempts in the first half against Long Beach State, and has Scheyer and Smith in high gear. Over the last three games, Scheyer has averaged 26 points and Smith has averaged 18.
Their passing and ball handling also has been stellar.
"Our two backcourt kids were terrific to have 14 assists and zero turnovers in this game," Krzyzewski said. "They have good quickness, and they just took good care of the ball."
And they connected for two huge 3-pointers after Long Beach State crept back into the game.
