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Singler leads No. 4 Duke over Wake Forest

Jan 23, 2011 - 12:32 AM Winston-Salem, NC (Sports Network) - Kyle Singler scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, as the fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils cruised past the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 83-59.

Ryan Kelly added 20 points and six boards for the Blue Devils (18-1, 5-1 ACC), who are off to an 18-1 start for the 11th time in school history.

Nolan Smith chipped in with 19 points for Duke, which has won three in a row since suffering its lone loss of the season to Florida State on January 12.

"I'm really happy with my team, and how they responded to Wake's great preparation," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I thought Jeff (Bzdelik) had his team very well prepared. They have come off some substantial losses, and you would never notice in their demeanor. They had great energy, togetherness, hit shots right away, and had a well-conceived offense."

Travis McKie had 12 points and nine rebounds to pace the Demon Deacons (7-13, 0-5), who have dropped five straight games to open conference play. Gary Clark and C.J. Harris both tallied 11 points.

Trailing by five, 18-13, less than seven minutes into the game, Duke put together a 14-2 run to take the lead. Singler and Kelly each tallied five points during the surge, with the latter making a jumper with 5:15 left to make it 27-20.

A few minutes later, the Blue Devils ripped off seven straight points. Smith's two free throws extended Duke's margin to 36-25, and the visitors led 41-32 at the break.

Wake Forest started the second half on an 8-3 flurry to make things interesting. Harris capped the burst with a three-pointer to cut the gap to 44-40.

But Duke put the game away with an ensuing 17-4 run. Singler scored the Blue Devils' first nine points of the surge, which Smith ended with a three-point play for a 61-44 margin with 12:19 to play.

The Demon Deacons never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.

"I can't remember how many lay-ups we missed. We had our opportunities," Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "All we've been working on with our players is playing off two feet. Teams like this (Duke) give early help. We wanted to spread them and drive them because they are so tight with their man. We got in there but now they have to make a play off two feet."

Game Notes

The Blue Devils hold a 158-77 edge in the all-time series...Duke has won 24 consecutive games in the state of North Carolina. The Blue Devils' last loss in the state was at N.C. State on January 20, 2010...Duke made 22-of-26 shots from the foul line, while Wake Forest went 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.