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."