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Scheyer leads Duke to victory over Clemson

Feb 23, 2007 - 7:33 AM CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Jon Scheyer and Duke may have burst Clemson's NCAA Tournament bubble.

A sharp-shooting freshman, Scheyer scored 18 points and the 17th-ranked Blue Devils withstood a second-half Clemson rally to post a 71-66 victory in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Duke went on a 29-6 run to take a 42-21 lead at the half. Clemson responded with a 21-5 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half, but when the Blue Devils needed a big shot Scheyer was there to come through.

Scheyer was 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-3 from the arc. After Clemson pulled within 51-45, Duke settled down and Scheyer hit a pair of 3-pointers, the second giving the Blue Devils a 62-52 lead with 3:54 to play.

Four free throws by Scheyer in the final 15 seconds iced the game for Duke (21-7, 8-6 ACC), which has won three straight after a four-game losing streak.

The Tigers continue to struggle after beginning the season with 17 straight wins. They now have lost eight of their last 10 games to move onto the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds each scored 14 points for Clemson (19-8, 5-8).

The Tigers should have figured they would have a tough time breaking out of their slump against the Blue Devils. Duke has won 21 straight over Clemson and is 45-9 against the Tigers under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

DeMarcus Nelson scored 16 points, Greg Paulus had 14 and Josh McRoberts added 10 for Duke.

The Tigers missed 13 straight shots at one point in the first half and had only six field goals in the opening 20 minutes. Clemson found the range in the second half, hitting 10 of their first 14 shots to get back in the game.