DURHAM — When Brian Zoubek found Jon Scheyer on the wing, a game that had been uncomfortably close for Duke (and the whole ACC) early in the second half finally broke open Thursday night.

Scheyer swished a 3-pointer in front of the Duke bench to complete an 11-point surge that broke a tie score as the fifth-ranked Blue Devils defeated Tulsa 70-52 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (24-4) won its seventh straight and improved to 16-0 this season at home, but it wasn't easy. Tulsa (19-9) trailed by just four points at halftime and tied it at 34-34 in the opening minute of the second half.

The Blue Devils struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the first half, making just one field goal over a period of 4 minutes, 44 seconds as Tulsa (19-9) climbed back from a 10-point deficit.

"In the first half we were a little bit nuts," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. ". . . But we played with tremendous poise in the second half."

Nolan Smith overcame a 3-for-12 first-half performance from the field to score 11 of his team-leading 18 points after halftime. Smith scored six straight in the 11-point run that put Duke ahead 45-34 four minutes into the second half.

Kyle Singler added 17 points, and Scheyer (15 points) made two 3-pointers in two minutes early in the second half to help Duke pull away.

Krzyzewski knew how important Thursday's game was, and he communicated that message to students via an Internet video invitation to a meeting with the team in the practice gym Wednesday night.

Students said he asked them to be amped up for Tulsa in Duke's last home game before the March 6 regular-season finale against rival North Carolina.

Tulsa came to Cameron with highly regarded seniors in guard Ben Uzoh and 7-foot center Jerome Jordan. Smith's defensive pressure helped hold Uzoh to eight points - half his average - on 3-for-15 from the field.

"You knew they would be prepared for Ben for the most part," Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said. "We figured that they would put Nolan Smith on him. ... He competed, missed a couple shots on the break. In our league he probably gets a few more trips to the free throw line, but it's good for him."

Jordan scored a team-high 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds but was limited to 24 minutes because of foul trouble. After trying to rattle Tulsa with full-court pressure in the first half, the Blue Devils backed off into a stifling half-court defense after halftime.

The Golden Hurricane was held to 22 second-half points. And Duke's offense thrived at the more deliberate pace.

"In the first half we were just rushed," Scheyer said. "We tried pressing them a little bit, and that didn't work out too well. And I think we let it affect us offensively. We're a team that needs to move the ball around and work for good shots. I thought we did a better job in the second half."

As a result, ACC-leading Duke upheld the honor of its conference against an opponent with an 8-5 record in Conference USA. The Blue Devils are 11-2 in the ACC, one game ahead of second-place Maryland, with games at Virginia and Maryland before the meeting with UNC.

Duke 70, Tulsa 52

Percentages: FG .328, FT .722. 3-point goals: 1-10, .100 (Hurtt 1-4, Medder 0-1, Pope 0-1, Uzoh 0-4). Team rebounds: 8. Blocked shots: 7 (Hurtt 2, Richard 2, Idlet, Jordan, Wheatley). Turnovers: 13 (Idlet 3, Jordan 2, Uzoh 2, Richard 2, Wheatley 2, Medder, Pope). Steals: 3 (Wheatley, Pope, Idlet). Technical fouls: Bench.

Percentages: FG .349, FT .786. 3-point goals: 4-12, .333 (Scheyer 3-5, Smith 1-3, Dawkins 0-1, Singler 0-3). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 6 (Zoubek 2, Singler 2, Mi. Plumlee, Ma. Plumlee). Turnovers: 5 (Singler 2, Smith, Scheyer). Steals: 7 (Smith 4, Ma. Plumlee, Scheyer, Zoubek). Technical fouls: none.

Att.-9,314. Officials-Tony Greene, Mike Stuart, Brent Hampton.

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