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Henderson helps Duke beat Georgetown in interconference clash

Jan 18, 2009 - 12:18 AM DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Gerald Henderson and second-ranked Duke took a break from Atlantic Coast Conference play to beat one of the beasts from the Big East.

Henderson scored 23 points Saturday afternoon as the Blue Devils topped No. 12 Georgetown, 76-67, in an interconference showdown.

Kyle Singler added 15 points and 16 rebounds for Duke (16-1), which has won 68 consecutive non-conference games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"This is the second time I've played Georgetown (in Cameron)," Henderson said. "Both games have been unbelievable in terms of intensity, and this one didn't disappoint at all. We won, but it was a lot of fun."

After opening ACC play with three relatively easy wins, the Blue Devils benefited from a key run late in the first half to down the Hoyas (12-4), one of the top teams from the heralded Big East.

"It was a great game," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It's two hard-nosed teams who play defense, and kids who play hard on very possession. We feel very fortunate to have won."

The Blue Devils were fortunate to receive another brilliant game from Henderson, who has scored at least 19 points in three consecutive contests and fell just two points shy of his career high.

A junior known more for his athleticism than his shooting touch, Henderson scored 17 points before halftime, making his first seven shots.

"The first half was great - it was special," said Henderson, who finished 10-of-15 from the floor and made 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. "My teammates were finding me and I was knocking shots down."

"(Henderson) put them on his shoulders and carried them," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "He was terrific, he was unbelievable. He just got into the flow, and that happens with good players."

Georgetown took a 27-23 lead on Austin Freeman's 3-pointer with eight minutes left in the first half.

But Duke responded with a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes and entered the break with a 40-29 lead. Henderson drilled a pair of 3-pointers during the pivotal outburst, which was capped by Singler's layup with 57 seconds left in the first half.

"During that stretch, I think they did a very good job of executing at the defensive end and we couldn't fall into a rhythm," Thompson said. "We didn't execute well at the offensive end, we made some poor decisions."

Georgetown went on a 13-2 run early in the second half and pulled within 46-42 on DaJuan Summers' made free throw with 15:33 remaining.

The Blue Devils answered once again, however, as Greg Paulus scored five points over a five-minute span to key a 15-3 run that gave Duke a 61-45 lead with 10:43 remaining.

Jon Scheyer scored 11 points while Paulus finished with 10 off the bench for Duke, which has won four of its last five meetings with the Hoyas.

"I thought that was, by far, (Paulus') best performance this year," Krzyzewski said. "What he showed was fight. He was playing really good defensively, playing with emotion, and gave us a huge boost. We don't win the game without Greg today."

Summers scored 21 points to pace Georgetown while freshman Greg Monroe - who was recruited heavily by Duke - chipped in 12 for the Hoyas, who have lost their last two road games.