COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NAIONAL ROUNDUP : Hill Stays in and Stands Out as Duke Defeats N.C. State

Grant Hill needs some relief, but there is none in sight.

Hill scored 20 points and played 40 minutes for the third consecutive game since taking over for injured point guard Bobby Hurley, leading top-ranked Duke to a 71-63 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over North Carolina State Sunday at Raleigh, N.C.

“Bobby, when are you coming back?” Hill asked after the Blue Devils ended a five-year losing streak at North Carolina State. “It’s something that is fun and a challenge, and hopefully I’ll be in better shape after this is over.”

Hurley, sidelined with a broken foot, may not return until the UCLA game on March 1 at Pauley Pavilion.

So Hill will have to tough it out for the next three ACC games. Against the Wolfpack, he suffered a shoulder bruise in the first half and told Coach Mike Krzyzewski that he wanted to come out of the game.

“He said, ‘My shoulder is killing me,’ and I said, ‘OK, just watch out and don’t fall down on the floor,’ ” Krzyzewski said. “I was trying to figure out what if this guy leaves the ball game, what do I do?

“For me, it will be very conservative. If they say (Hurley is) ready for a game, I may not even put him in that game.”

Christian Laettner and Thomas Hill scored 16 points each for the Blue Devils (20-1 overall, 10-1 in the ACC), who reached 20 victories for the ninth consecutive season.

The Wolfpack (9-15, 3-8) set a school record with their ninth consecutive loss. The previous record of eight was set in 1939-40 and matched in 1945-46.

Tom Gugliotta 23 points for the Wolfpack.

The Blue Devils started slowly and led by only five points at halftime. But they stretched the lead to 48-36 five minutes into the second half after a three-point play by Laettner and a dunk by Brian Davis.

OTHER GAMES

DePaul (16-6) continued its bid to make the NCAA playoffs by downing Louisville, 84-81, at Rosemont, Ill., for its fifth consecutive victory and 10th in 11 games. Cornelius Holden had 17 points for Louisville (14-8). . . . Oklahoma won its first Big Eight Conference home game in more than a year by beating Kansas State, 104-75, at Norman, Okla. Jeff Webster scored 24 points for the Sooners (15-6, 3-5). Freshman Brian Henson had 21 points for Kansas State (12-9, 2-6). . . . Massachusetts (20-4, 8-3) beat Temple for the first time and reached 20 victories for the second consecutive season with a 67-52 Atlantic 10 Conference victory at Amherst, Mass. The Owls (12-9, 8-5) beat the Minutemen the first 21 times they played. . . . Dexter Cambridge had 30 points and 12 rebounds as Texas (16-9) beat Georgia, 98-93, at San Antonio. Litterial Green had 23 points and 10 assists for Georgia (11-10). . . . Anfernee Hardaway scored 17 points to lead Memphis State (14-7) past Southern Mississippi, 80-61, at Memphis, Tenn. Glen Whisby scored 18 for the Golden Eagles (10-12).