Duke gets a tough win at BC

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- It was not a time to be weary.

During the final seconds of Duke’s second game in 43 hours, the Blue Devils had to count on 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek to hustle from under the basket to contest a 3-point shot by a player somebody else had been guarding.

Zoubek saw teammate Ryan Kelly get caught on a screen as Joe Trapani came open for a pass from Reggie Jackson during a chaotic final sequence. Zoubek forced Trapani to dribble and hoist an off-balance shot from his hip.

It missed badly, silencing a sellout crowd of 8,606 as Duke held on to win 66-63 at Conte Forum.

“He was wide open on the three,” Zoubek said, “and I just had to hustle my seven-foot frame out there.”

Duke (19-4, 7-2 ACC) strengthened its hold on first place in the ACC despite unfavorable circumstances. After winning Thursday night at home in a 7 p.m. game against Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils played at 2 p.m. Saturday at Boston College.

The Eagles (12-11, 3-6 ACC) hadn’t played in a week and were by far the more rested team. Nonetheless, Duke guards Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith each played 40 minutes, scored 21 points and added four assists to spark the win.

“We played a great game and we weren’t tired at all,” Smith said. “We have a team that gets in shape every single day we are in the gym. We take care of our bodies, and whether we have three guys playing 40 minutes, if we played 100 minutes, it doesn’t matter.”

Late in the first half, at a time they should have been tiring, the Blue Devils opened up a 10-point lead. Smith heaved in a 25-foot 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer and Scheyer added a 3-pointer and two layups as Duke scored 10 of the last 12 points of the first half to lead 35-25 at halftime.

Although Smith said fatigue wasn’t a factor, coach Mike Krzyzewski and other players said it might have played a role in Duke’s uncharacteristic scoring struggles. Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils missed some shots inside, and Scheyer said players didn’t grab rebounds as strongly as they ordinarily do.

The Blue Devils shot just 57.7 percent from the foul line (15-for-26), their second-lowest mark of the season.

“Sometimes free throw shooting or finishing [inside] is a result of not being as fresh,” Krzyzewski said.

Led by Corey Raji, who scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Boston College charged back. A high-arcing 3-pointer by Jackson with 15.1 seconds left cut Duke’s lead to 64-63.

But the Eagles fouled ACC free throw percentage leader Scheyer, and he made two shots. That left Boston College needing a 3-pointer to tie with Zoubek rushing out to contest it.

“And [Trapani] ended up not even getting a good look at it,” Smith said. “It was a great defensive play.”

Coupled with Virginia’s loss to Wake Forest, the win opened up space for Duke at the top of the ACC. Maryland (15-6, 5-2), which plays host to North Carolina today, is the closest team to the Blue Devils in the standings.

A week earlier, Duke’s players looked tired and disappointed after an 89-77 loss at Georgetown. They might have been just as weary as they headed out of Boston.

But the Blue Devils had restored their confidence, and they will be the more rested team Wednesday when they visit North Carolina.

“We got better this week,” Krzyzewski said. “. . .To win two games, add something to our offense, and to win them in 43 hours, I like that about our team.”