Duke Has Blue Devil of a Time, but Wins

Duke has won plenty of games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., on talent alone. Another element was added in the fifth-ranked Blue Devils’ 92-88 overtime victory over North Carolina State Wednesday night.

“Guts,” senior forward Chris Carrawell said when asked for the key to Duke’s 44th consecutive home-court victory. “We really fought.”

No player fought harder than Carrawell, who scored a career-high 30 points, playing all 45 minutes as Duke matched the Atlantic Coast Conference record for consecutive regular-season victories at 27 previously set by North Carolina State from 1972-75.

Duke, 14-2 overall and 5-0 in the ACC, seemingly had the game won--ahead by five points with 9.6 seconds left in regulation--only to have North Carolina State (12-3, 3-2) stage a miraculous comeback.

The Wolfpack trailed 75-74 when guard Justin Gainey fell to the floor with the ball and called a timeout when his team had none. Duke made two free throws on the technical and two more after a foul on the ensuing possession.

But after a layup by Marshall Williams and a turnover by Duke guard Jason Williams with 2.8 seconds left, forward Shane Battier fouled Gainey on a three-point shot with 0.8 seconds left. Gainey made the first one, missed the second, then intentionally missed the third, allowing Marshall Williams to get the rebound and score at the buzzer to tie the game at 79-79.

Carrawell, whose previous high for points was 28 in a season-opening loss to Stanford, had five points in the overtime.

OTHER TOP 25 GAMES

Senior center Kenyon Martin had a career-high 28 points and tied a school record with 10 blocks as No. 1 Cincinnati (17-1, 5-0 in Conference USA) increased its home-court win streak to 40 with a 75-55 victory over Memphis (8-9, 1-3). . . . No. 4 Auburn (16-1, 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference) blew a 16-point lead in the second half at home, then made five of six free throws in the final 49 seconds to seal its 14th consecutive victory--a 65-61 decision over South Carolina (9-8, 1-3). . . . Freshman guard Shaun Williams, scoreless in his last three games, had a season-high 23 points off the bench asNo. 6 Syracuse (15-0, 5-0 in the Big East) remained the nation’s only unbeaten Division I team with an 82-72 victory at Pittsburgh (8-7, 0-4). . . . Forward Desmond Mason, who had only 20 points in three previous games against Division I teams, scored 30 to lead No. 12 Oklahoma State (14-1, 3-0 in the Big 12) to a 73-65 victory over Texas (11-5, 3-1) at Stillwater, Okla. . . . Guard Jaquay Walls scored 17 of his 28 points in the final 11 minutes, and made 13 of 14 free throws for Colorado (10-6, 1-3 in the Big 12) in an 88-80 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma (14-3, 2-2) at Boulder, Colo. . . . Center Jamaal Magloire had 19 points and 14 rebounds for No. 18 Kentucky (12-5, 3-1 in the SEC) in a 74-69 victory over Mississippi (12-6, 0-5) at Lexington, Ky. . . . Center Lonny Baxter scored 12 of his 18 points in a game-opening 24-4 run that lifted No. 24 Maryland (12-5, 1-3 in the ACC) to a 73-51 victory over Wake Forest (11-6, 2-3) at College Park, Md.