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Duke rolls past UNC-Greensboro

Dec 20, 2011 - 5:11 AM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Mason Plumlee dropped 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, leading the seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils to a 90-63 thrashing of UNC-Greensboro at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday.

Austin Rivers and Quinn Cook contributed 14 points apiece, while Andre Dawkins added 11 points and Ryan Kelly chipped in with 10 points for the Blue Devils (10-1), winners of three straight since getting pounded by Ohio State, 85-63 on November 29. Miles Plumlee grabbed 13 rebounds for Duke.

Kyle Randall led UNC-Greensboro (2-10) with 12 points and Derrell Armstrong added 11 points. Aaron Brackett chipped in with 10 points for the Spartans, losers of their last seven contests.

Leading by 11 at the break, the Blue Devils took complete control in the second half, using a 29-8 run over the first 12-plus minutes to lead by 31, 73-42, with 7 1/2 minutes to play in regulation.

"We didn't spread our defense out. We just picked up at half court," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his team's defensive adjustments in the second half. "We changed how we were doing ball screens."

A dunk by Brackett finally put an end to the run with seven minutes to play, but Duke was on cruise control the rest of the way, coasting to the easy victory. The Blue Devils outscored UNC-Greensboro 45-29 in the second half.

The game remained close throughout the majority first half, with UNC Greensboro leading by as many as five, 16-11, with 12 minutes to play, but the lead did not last.

With the game tied at 24 with 6:50 to go in the first half, Duke began to assert its superiority, using a 6-0 burst to go up 30-24 with just over five minutes to go in the opening stanza, though the Spartans scored the next four points to make it a one-possession game.

Duke then used a 10-4 run over the next three-plus minutes to lead 40-32 before a pair of free throws by Armstrong snapped the run and made it 40-34 with just over a minute left in the half.

Duke took a 45-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.

"I am tremendously proud of our guys," UNC-Greensboro head coach Wes Miller said. "We've had two games that maybe didn't turn out the way we wanted them to turn out, but they just keep fighting. I just couldn't be more proud of them and their character."

Game Notes

Duke leads the all-time series with UNC Greensboro, 10-0...The Blue Devils have won 41 consecutive games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, matching the second- longest home winning streak in program history...Duke is 143-24 all-time against teams currently in the Southern Conference...Duke shot 53.7 percent from the floor and 10-of-21 from three-point range, while the Spartans shot 41 percent from the floor and 4-of-13 from beyond the arc.