(2) Duke 92, Miami (FL) 71
DURHAM, N.C. -- J.J. Redick lost a defender around a screen, took a pass in front of the Duke bench and launched a 3-pointer that had an entire arena holding its breath.
The ball swished through, touching off an earsplitting roar and vaulting Redick to the top of Duke's career scoring list.
The senior sharpshooter scored 30 points to break Johnny Dawkins' school record and help the second-ranked Blue Devils beat Miami 92-71 on Sunday, a win that could push them back to No. 1.
Redick finished 10-for-15 from the field and hit six 3-pointers for the Blue Devils (25-1, 13-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), passing Dawkins, now an assistant coach at Duke, by one point on the career list with 2,557 points. Redick also moved into second place on the ACC career list, 30 points behind Wake Forest's Dickie Hemric.
Redick said he felt blessed to set the record. He also sounded relieved to move forward after weeks of hearing fans count down his pursuit of history or scream for him to shoot practically every time he touched the ball.
"I've tried to stay focused on the team all year, but these last two games as they've approached it's been tough," Redick said. "It is nice to take care of the record and get back to focusing on the team, which is the most important thing."
It was just the latest in a growing list of milestones for Redick. Redick set the NCAA record for career 3-pointers in Tuesday's win against Wake Forest, and followed that with his school-record 13th 30-point game of the season.
Redick was honored at midcourt after the game, receiving a game ball from Dawkins, athletics director Joe Alleva and university president Richard Brodhead. Redick pointed one finger in the air as he walked to midcourt, hugged all three men, then pointed to the fans as camera flashes rolled through Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"When I went out there, it took everything for me not to cry," Redick said.
His teammates joined in the celebration, congratulating him after he was pulled late in the game with Duke up 20, then playfully mobbing him after his midcourt ceremony.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski stood and watched quietly from the sideline.
"When you're that scorer, you're marked, and in our league, you're usually marked by athletes," Krzyzewski said. "And you're not only being played by them, but you're being double-teamed by another athlete. In a league like ours, for him to do what he has done is truly amazing."
Shelden Williams added 17 points and 15 rebounds for Duke, which could move up in the rankings after top-ranked Connecticut's loss to Villanova earlier in the week. The Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 through the first 11 polls before falling to No. 2 with a loss at Georgetown on Jan. 21.
The Blue Devils have won eight straight since. They jumped to a big lead late in the first half against the Hurricanes (14-12, 6-7) and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way to clinch the top seed in next month's ACC tournament.
Guillermo Diaz scored 23 points to lead Miami, which has lost four straight conference games after a surprising 6-3 start.
Redick scored 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting to help the Blue Devils to a 59-43 lead at the break. Things slowed down for him in the second half, with Miami's zone defense paying him special attention.
"As you can see, it didn't help because he still got 30 points," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "He finds ways. He is smart. It is like anything you do, it will work for a short period of time."
Duke led 40-36 before taking control with a 19-4 run to take a 59-40 lead with 52.4 seconds left in the half. Freshman Josh McRoberts scored eight with six coming on free throws during that spurt, during which Haith became so frustrated at the officiating -- "We can't touch them!" he yelled at one point -- that he was whistled for a technical foul.
Redick's free throws on the technical closed the run, and Miami got no closer than 10 points after the break.
"You don't have the opportunity to play against a guy that good very often, and that's what I told him after the game," Diaz said. "He is just a great player."
February 19, 2006
February 15, 2006
Duke's Redick Sets Career 3-Point Record
DURHAM, N.C. - J.J. Redick set up the screen perfectly and lost his defender in the process. The short pass was perfect, and he caught it, turned and launched yet another 3-pointer. It swished through, as his jumpers often do, but this one was special. It made Redick the NCAA's new career 3-point leader.
"It's a special night, to set a national record is very neat and I'm proud," he said.
The Duke senior moved to the top of the list with four 3s on his way to 33 points, helping the second-ranked Blue Devils run away from Wake Forest 93-70 Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I'll never be able to completely shed the label of just being a shooter, and that's fine with me," Redick said. "It doesn't stop me from working on my game and trying to get better."
Freshman Josh McRoberts had 12 of his 16 points in the first half and Shelden Williams also scored 16 for Duke (24-1, 12-0 ACC), which is in position to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press poll next week following Connecticut's loss to Villanova on Monday night.
"I've tried not to focus on the records, I've tried to focus on what our team's doing," he said. "We're having a heck of a season as a team, and that's been a lot of fun to be a part of."
The Demon Deacons (13-12, 1-10) lost their seventh conference game in a row. Justin Gray led them with 18 points, while Eric Williams finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Redick got two 3-pointers in the first 12 1/2 minutes to pass the mark previously held by Virginia's Curtis Staples, who had 413 from 1994-98. Redick added two more and now has 416.
Staples was in attendance and presented Redick with a game ball in a ceremony following the game.
"It's his confidence level," Gray said. "When he's shooting the ball like that, it's not really technique or none of that stuff. It all has to do with confidence and his confidence is through the roof right now."
Redick totaled at least 30 points for the fourth straight game, setting a new school record.
"I've never had anybody who had so many 30-point games," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We're not always looking for him. We're trying to be balanced. He's just an incredible player."
Even better, Redick passed Virginia's Bryant Stith for fourth on the ACC career scoring list, and he remained on pace to pass Dickie Hemric at the top of the list. Hemric had 2,587 for Wake Forest, and Redick now trails him by 60 points with five games remaining in the regular season.
The Blue Devils led by 14 at the break before Wake Forest briefly rallied. A tip-in by Kevin Swinton made it 54-43 before Duke responded with a 12-2 run — completed with a layup from Redick — and the Deacons never recovered.
"You know, I've pretty much got through the part of feeling sorry for myself and sorry for the team," Eric Williams said. "The only thing we can do now is keep fighting. We've got to play it game by game. That's all we can do."
DURHAM, N.C. - J.J. Redick set up the screen perfectly and lost his defender in the process. The short pass was perfect, and he caught it, turned and launched yet another 3-pointer. It swished through, as his jumpers often do, but this one was special. It made Redick the NCAA's new career 3-point leader.
"It's a special night, to set a national record is very neat and I'm proud," he said.
The Duke senior moved to the top of the list with four 3s on his way to 33 points, helping the second-ranked Blue Devils run away from Wake Forest 93-70 Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I'll never be able to completely shed the label of just being a shooter, and that's fine with me," Redick said. "It doesn't stop me from working on my game and trying to get better."
Freshman Josh McRoberts had 12 of his 16 points in the first half and Shelden Williams also scored 16 for Duke (24-1, 12-0 ACC), which is in position to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press poll next week following Connecticut's loss to Villanova on Monday night.
"I've tried not to focus on the records, I've tried to focus on what our team's doing," he said. "We're having a heck of a season as a team, and that's been a lot of fun to be a part of."
The Demon Deacons (13-12, 1-10) lost their seventh conference game in a row. Justin Gray led them with 18 points, while Eric Williams finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Redick got two 3-pointers in the first 12 1/2 minutes to pass the mark previously held by Virginia's Curtis Staples, who had 413 from 1994-98. Redick added two more and now has 416.
Staples was in attendance and presented Redick with a game ball in a ceremony following the game.
"It's his confidence level," Gray said. "When he's shooting the ball like that, it's not really technique or none of that stuff. It all has to do with confidence and his confidence is through the roof right now."
Redick totaled at least 30 points for the fourth straight game, setting a new school record.
"I've never had anybody who had so many 30-point games," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We're not always looking for him. We're trying to be balanced. He's just an incredible player."
Even better, Redick passed Virginia's Bryant Stith for fourth on the ACC career scoring list, and he remained on pace to pass Dickie Hemric at the top of the list. Hemric had 2,587 for Wake Forest, and Redick now trails him by 60 points with five games remaining in the regular season.
The Blue Devils led by 14 at the break before Wake Forest briefly rallied. A tip-in by Kevin Swinton made it 54-43 before Duke responded with a 12-2 run — completed with a layup from Redick — and the Deacons never recovered.
"You know, I've pretty much got through the part of feeling sorry for myself and sorry for the team," Eric Williams said. "The only thing we can do now is keep fighting. We've got to play it game by game. That's all we can do."
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