Durham, NC (Sports Network) - There was an early moment of trepidation in
Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night before top-ranked Duke turned it on
in a scoring surge rarely seen.
Seth Curry led a balanced attack with 20 points and Mason Plumlee added 18
points and nine boards, as the Blue Devils used an eye-popping second-half run
to rout Cornell, 88-47.
Rasheed Sulaimon posted 16 points and Quinn Cook added six points and 12
assists for the Blue Devils (10-0), who posted their 99th straight non-
conference victory in Durham, the longest such streak in the country. They
used a 41-4 scoring start to the second half to break open a close game early.
"In the second half we came out with a lot more energy," said Curry. "Our
defense was a lot better. We translated tipped balls into layups and fast-
break points."
Shonn Miller led Cornell (4-7) with 14 points and six rebounds. The Big Red
made things interesting early just two days after falling by 11 points at
Vanderbilt.
Cornell had an early 12-8 lead and still was within striking distance at 28-25
after Miller's jumper with just under six minutes to play in the first half.
The Blue Devils built a 41-30 margin at the half, but it was a methodical
extension of the advantage that served as little evidence for the oncoming
onslaught.
The Blue Devils started the second half with a 41-4 surge, including 10 points
from Curry, to take an 82-34 lead. Cornell went nearly 6 1/2 minutes before
its first points of the half, missing its first 10 shots, and started the
second half 2-of-17 from the floor.
Duke didn't miss much during that time period, making 13 of its first 15 shots
including Amile Jefferson's slam for a 57-30 lead. Errick Peck's bucket for
the Big Red stopped a 19-0 run, but Curry responded with six in a row for a
66-32 lead.
The rout was on from there as Duke played every player on its bench and all
but two scored.
GAME NOTES:
Jefferson scored eight points and Alex Murphy added seven off the bench ...
Duke ended the game on a 60-21 run ... The 41-4 scoring surge spanned 12
minutes, 45 seconds ... Mike Krzyzewski improved to 24-1 against the Ivy
League as Duke head coach .. Duke didn't score a single second-chance point in
the win.
The Sports Network