Durham, NC (My Sportsbook) - Gerald Henderson scored 23 points and Kyle Singler added 15 with a career-high 16 rebounds, as third-ranked Duke earned its eighth straight win with a 76-67 victory over No. 13 Georgetown at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Jon Scheyer chipped in 11 points and Greg Paulus scored 10 for the Blue Devils (16-1), who haven't lost since an 81-73 setback at Michigan on December 6. In addition, Duke extended its home winning streak against non-conference opposition to 68 straight games.
"Whether the team is from the Northeast, the South or the West, you want to win and you want to win at home," said Paulus. "You want to protect your home turf. We really wanted to win this one, not because it was ACC-Big East, but just because we're playing and we hate to lose."
DaJuan Summers scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Georgetown (12-4), which had won two in a row and was coming off an 88-74 victory over Syracuse on Wednesday.
Austin Freeman added 15 points in defeat and freshman sensation Greg Monroe managed 12 points with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks despite foul trouble. One of those fouls was a technical that came at a crucial moment in the second half.
The Hoyas weathered a lengthy shooting drought that carried into the second half and rallied from a 44-29 deficit to claw within 46-42. Monroe was then hit with a technical with just over 15 minutes to play and the momentum swung back in Duke's favor.
Scheyer hit both free throws to start a 6-0 burst for a 10-point margin, and the lead reached 16 at 61-45 with 10:40 remaining on a bucket by Nolan Smith.
Georgetown responded with seven straight points to pull within nine, but could not get any closer until Omar Wattad drilled a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to make it 72-67.
Smith then drained two from the stripe and Summers missed at the other end. Scheyer followed with a pair of free throws to seal it.
"I did miss a lot of key free throws, but that's not why my offensive production stopped or slowed down," said Summers. "I tried to find different looks, not force shots, and find the best shots down the stretch."
Duke finished 12-of-13 from the line and shot 48.3 percent overall. Georgetown made only 10-of-18 from the stripe and shot 51 percent from the field. The Hoyas, who connected on nearly 60 percent of their shots and drilled 12-of-21 three-point tries in the victory over Syracuse, made only 5-of-15 from beyond the arc on Saturday.
Georgetown opened its biggest lead of the first half at 27-23 on a three- pointer by Freeman with just under eight minutes to play, then didn't make another field goal until the second half.
The Hoyas missed 10 straight shots and turned it over three times as Duke closed the first half on a 17-2 run. Two free throws by Julian Vaughn tied the game at 29-29 for Georgetown, but the Blue Devils scored the final 11 points before the break.
Scheyer put Duke ahead for good with a three-pointer and Henderson followed with consecutive shots from beyond the arc before a driving lay-in by Singler sent the Blue Devils to the intermission with a 40-29 edge.
Henderson scored 17 first-half points for Duke, hitting all but one of his eight shots. Summers scored 12 in the opening 20 minutes for Georgetown.
Game Notes
Duke hasn't lost at home to a non-conference opponent since an 83-82 setback to St. John's on February 26, 2000...Singler topped his previous best rebounding effort of 14, set on Wednesday against Georgia Tech...Summers has scored in double figures in each game this season and in 17 straight dating back to last year...Duke has won 18 straight games in the month of January, dating back to a 74-63 loss at Georgia Tech on January 10, 2007...The Blue Devils improved to 7-6 all-time against Georgetown, including 3-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
