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Scheyer, late run helps Duke overcome Florida State

Jan 17, 2008 - 5:42 AM TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Ticker) -- For the second consecutive season, Duke blew a 17-point lead to Florida State. But this time a strong finish allowed them to pull out the victory.

Jon Scheyer scored 21 points and Gerald Henderson added 11 and eight rebounds as the fifth-ranked Blue Devils overcame a furious rally from the Seminoles to pull out a 70-57 victory in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Wednesday.

Freshman Kyle Singler chipped in 10 points for the Blue Devils, who last season led by 17 in the first half before falling to the Seminoles for the second straight time, 68-67. That loss snapped a 15-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Florida State.

Duke (14-1, 2-0 ACC) went scoreless for the final 2:30 of that contest but finished much stronger in this one, blowing past Florida State over the last few minutes.

The Blue Devils held a 30-13 lead midway through the first half but watched the Seminoles come all the way back to take a 55-54 lead with under four minutes to play.

But Singler ignited a decisive 16-2 run with a 3-pointer, and after a pair of free throws from DeMarcus Nelson, Duke held a 62-55 lead with 1:32 left to play.

Florida State (12-6, 1-2) missed eight of its final nine shots from the floor as Greg Paulus scored a layup and Duke went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to secure the victory.

The Blue Devils overcame 20 turnovers and 7-of-27 shooting from the arc by outrebounding the Seminoles, 44-32, and holding them to 36 percent shooting (22-of-62).

Jason Rich had all 18 of his points in the second half to go along with six rebounds to lead Florida State, which dropped to 0-3 against ranked opponents this season.

Leading by one midway through the first half, Duke went on a 16-0 run - keyed by 10 points from Scheyer - to take the 17-point bulge with 7:35 to go before halftime.

Scheyer was 7-of-10 from the field in the first half as the rest of the Blue Devils shot 7-of-20.

Florida State crept within 34-22 at the break and used a 12-2 spurt early after the intermission to cut its deficit to 42-38 with 13:22 to play.

Greg Paulus' 3-pointer gave Duke a 48-40 lead but Florida State rallied as Rich scored six of the eight straight points by the Seminoles to tie the game with 9:04 remaining.

The Seminoles rallied to tie the game at 48-48 before Duke scored the next six points to go up 54-48. But Florida State again came back with seven unanswered points, taking its first lead since the 15:51 mark of the first half at 55-54 with 3:45 remaining on a layup by Rich.

Toney Douglas had 14 points for the Seminoles, who made only 3-of-13 3-point attempts.