Miami Rally Falls Short At No. 1 Duke

DURHAM, N.C.. (AP) – Nolan Smith scored a season-high 28 points to lead top-ranked Duke in the 74-63 win over Miami in the league opener for both teams on Sunday.

Reserve guard Andre Dawkins added 16 points for the Blue Devils (13-0, 1-0), who have won 23 straight games dating to last season’s run to the ACC and NCAA tournament titles. Kyle Singler added 14 points on a night when the Blue Devils didn’t shoot all that well but still maintained a comfortable lead for much of the game.

It was a good start as the Blue Devils aim for a 12th ACC regular-season crown under Mike Krzyzewski. Smith had a run of 13 straight points in the first half that gave Duke its double-digit lead, and the Hurricanes (11-4, 0-1) played the reigning champions basically even the rest of the way.

“You don’t win one of those (banners) without showing up every day in our conference,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s just different. You don’t play for your total record. You play for your ACC record. That’s the way we’ve approached it, especially since the mid ’90s. And we get better as a result of doing that.”

The Blue Devils led by 13 points at halftime and Miami twice got as close as nine, the last time at 56-47 on a layup by Durand Scott with about 6 1/2 minutes to play. But the Blue Devils answered with a 7-0 run capped by a jumper and a long 3-pointer from Dawkins that made it 63-47 with 4:33 left.

Reggie Johnson tied his career high with 22 points for Miami and added nine rebounds and a pair of blocks, despite battling foul trouble much of the game.

The Hurricanes missed 14 of 17 3-point attempts and shot 37 percent overall. That included plenty of shots in the paint, particularly while Johnson sat on the bench and Smith went on his run.

“It’s kind of demoralizing when you have those bunnies around the hoop and you don’t make them,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “We missed a lot of those in the first half. We had some open looks there at the end – guys who normally make shots … and we just didn’t knock them down.”

Smith went 9 of 15 from the field, closing his night with his fourth 3 to beat the shot clock with about a minute left.

“My teammates set some screens, got me open in transition and the shots were able to fall,” Smith said. “I think I’m at my best when I’m in the aggressive mindset to make plays for my teammates as well as myself.”

Duke has dominated the series overall, winning 10 of 11 meetings since Miami joined the ACC before the 2004-05 season. But the Hurricanes had played the Blue Devils well of late, edging Duke by one at home in 2008 and losing the next three meetings by a combined 13 points.

This one fit right in for about 15 minutes, but that’s when Smith got rolling.