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No. 3 Duke handles Boston College

Jan 28, 2011 - 6:18 AM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Nolan Smith poured in a game-high 28 points and dished out eight assists as No. 3 Duke downed Boston College, 84-68, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Seth Curry posted 20 points for the Blue Devils (19-1, 6-1 ACC), who have won four straight since their lone loss at Florida State. Ryan Kelly and Kyle Singler chipped in 14 points apiece for the victors.

Corey Raji tallied 18 points and Joe Trapani contributed 14 with a team-high 11 boards for the Eagles (14-7, 4-3), who have lost three of four.

Josh Southern's layup tied the game at 15-15 with 8:15 to play in the opening half, but Duke assumed control for good after that.

"We won a really good game tonight," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "They're very good."

Smith bookended a brief 11-7 burst with buckets to give the home team a 26-22 edge, and though BC battled back within 28-27 on a Biko Paris trey, Duke finished the half with a 13-5 run to take a 41-32 lead to the break courtesy of a Kelly deuce.

It was 49-38 less than three minutes into the second half after Smith completed a three-point play, and the Duke advantage climbed 60-43 on two Smith free throws with 12:13 remaining.

The 20-point barrier was breached for the first time after Smith knocked down a trey for a 66-46 contest, and reached as high as 22, at 69-47, when Curry hit from long distance with 10:05 to go.

BC never threatened thereafter, only getting within as many as 13, 76-63, with 4:35 left on a Southern bucket.

"I thought this was one of the better games that I've seen [Duke] play. They moved the ball well, shared it and obviously stepped in and made shots with confidence," said BC head coach Steve Donahue. "I was pretty proud of our guys for stretches. I thought we did a good job."

Game Notes

Duke has won 13 of the 15 meetings with BC, and improved to 6-0 against the Eagles at Cameron...BC's leading scorer Reggie Jackson finished with a season- low seven points and six assists...Paris ended with 11 points and seven rebounds...Duke committed just seven turnovers and forced the Eagles to cough up the ball 13 times.