Dunleavy, Williams Lift Duke

Dropping from No. 1 didn’t sit well with Duke captains Mike Dunleavy and Jason Williams.

So they did something about it Thursday night.

Dunleavy scored a career-high 30 points, and Williams had 26 as the No. 3 Blue Devils got back in sync after their second loss of the season by rolling over No. 20 Wake Forest, 90-61, at Winston Salem, N.C.

The Blue Devils (24-2, 12-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) shot 63% to remain on the heels of conference-leading Maryland, which defeated Duke by 14 points Sunday to end its winning streak at 11.

“We realize we’re still getting better and you could see tonight we’re still taking steps and becoming the team we know we can be,” Williams said.

Dunleavy was 11 for 15 from the field. His previous best was 27 points earlier this season at North Carolina State.

Duke was a miserable seven for 33 from three-point range against No. 2 Maryland, but was 12 for 23 this time as Dunleavy and Williams combined to go 10 for 17.

Wake Forest (18-9, 8-5) remained in third place in the ACC.

The Demon Deacons came in ranked No. 8 in the nation in scoring, but shot only 33% and turned the ball over a season-high 21 times.

No. 11 Pittsburgh 78, Rutgers 59--Donatas Zavackas scored 19 points and the Panthers (23-4, 11-3 in the Big East) shot 70% in the second half to defeat the Scarlet Knights (17-9, 7-6) at Pittsburgh to win their fifth in a row.

Brandin Knight had 13 points and eight assists for Pittsburgh, which has won eight of nine and is having its best season since the 1973-74 team was 25-4.

OTHER GAMES

Syracuse 73, Seton Hall 71--Preston Shumpert scored 17 points and assisted on a game-clinching layup as the Orangemen (20-7, 9-4 in the Big East) held off the Pirates (12-14, 5-8) at East Rutherford, N.J., giving Coach Jim Boeheim a 20-win season for the 24th time in 26 years.

DeShaun Williams had 18 points and Kueth Duany scored all 14 of his points in the first half before breaking his nose in a second-half scramble.

Michigan State 74, Minnesota 55--Adam Ballinger had 20 points and nine rebounds as the Spartans (16-10, 7-6 in the Big Ten) defeated the Gophers (14-10, 7-6) at East Lansing, Mich., in a matchup of teams competing for an NCAA tournament bid.

Louisiana Tech 66, Fresno State 63--Gerrod Henderson capped a game-high 28-point effort with a three-pointer in the final seconds to lift the Techsters (17-8, 11-4 in the Western Athletic) to a victory over the Bulldogs (16-12, 7-8) at Ruston, La.