Georgia Southern 48 - 72 Duke
Final
  for this game

Paulus, Duke hope to ratchet up defense vs. Georgia Southern

Nov 13, 2006 - 5:53 PM Ga Southern (1-0) at No. 11 Duke (1-0) 7:00 pm EST

DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Duke learned in its season opener that strong defense can heal growing pains. A healthy Greg Paulus also helped.

Paulus takes the court for the second time since recovering from a preseason foot injury when No. 11 Duke hosts Georgia Southern on Monday in the second round of the CBE Classic.

Featuring one of their youngest starting lineups in recent memory, the Blue Devils cruised to an 86-43 rout in their season opener against Columbia on Sunday.

Brian Zoubek scored 18 points in just 14 minutes while fellow freshmen Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas scored 12 apiece for Duke, which limited Columbia to just 29 percent shooting (15-of-51) while forcing 19 turnovers.

Sunday's contest also marked the return of Paulus, the team's point guard and co-captain. The sophomore dished out seven assists in 19 minutes.

Fellow sophomore co-captain Josh McRoberts also enjoyed a successful return to the lineup, collecting eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Duke's leading returning scorer and rebounder, McRoberts underwent back surgery in the offseason and played 24 minutes Sunday.

Georgia Southern also is coming off an impressive season opener, a 116-73 thrashing of UC Davis.

Donte Gennie scored 26 points while Louis Graham added 20 and 11 rebounds for the Eagles, who owned a 63-29 edge on the glass.






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