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Smith's big night helps Duke rout UAB

Jan 6, 2011 - 4:29 AM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Nolan Smith scored a career-high 33 points and added seven rebounds and five assists to lead top-ranked Duke past UAB, 85-64, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"Nolan's leadership, his poise, his maturity, I think he is probably playing as well as anyone in the country right now," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You know what you have in a player like that who shares the ball, plays defense and talks to set the tone for the team."

Kyle Singler supplied 15 points and seven rebounds while Mason Plumlee chipped in with 14 points and eight caroms for the Blue Devils (14-0), who have won their first 14 games for the fifth time in school history.

Singler became the sixth player in Duke history to score 2,000 points and grab 800 rebounds and the 11th player in school history to reach the 2,000 point plateau.

Duke has won 24 straight games overall and 28 in a row on home hardwood.

Jamarr Sanders scored 21 points while Cameron Moore provided 13 points and 15 boards for the Blazers (10-3), who had a four-game win streak snapped.

After Sanders' triple 40 seconds in accounted for the game's first bucket, Duke seized control and never looked back by scoring the next 16.

Singler sank a step-back triple and another jumper to make it 26-4 with just over 13 1/2 minutes to play in the first half.

"Well, we were just a little jittery," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "We turned the ball over a couple of times, missed some layups but they had a lot to do with it. The environment is what we wanted our guys to be in. We played at Arizona State, we played at Georgia, we played at Arkansas, three BCS schools in a row. We can get better from this game because Duke makes you play outside your comfort zone."

UAB finally ended a 6 1/2-minute field goal drought when Moore knocked down a trifecta on the ensuing possession.

Duke did not allow the visitors to get closer than 14 the rest of the half and took a 51-36 lead to the intermission after making 6-of-9 from long distance.

The Blazers never drew nearer than 14 during the second half in suffering their third road loss of the season.

Smith broke his previous career-best of 29 points, set in last year's NCAA regional final against Baylor, with an emphatic, driving dunk to put Duke up 76-56 with just under six minutes remaining. He dropped in a pair from the line with 1 1/2 minutes to go to finish his scoring.

Game Notes

Duke also started 14-0 during the 1985-86, 1991-92, 2004-05 and 2005-06 campaigns...Smith has scored at least 22 points in five straight games...He made 11-of-22 shots from the floor and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Singler went only 5-for-18 from the field, including 3-of-6 from long range...He has 2,010 career points...The Blue Devils have won 85 straight non-conference home games and 50 in a row at Cameron over unranked opponents...Duke has won all three meetings with UAB...The Blue Devils are 33-2 against current members of Conference USA...UAB is 1-3 against the number-one ranked team...The one victory came over Kentucky in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Sanders connected on 5-of-10 from three-point territory in the loss and added six rebounds...UAB was 9-of-22 from three-point territory...Moore was 3-of-15 from the field.