DURHAM, N.C. (AP)—J.J. Redick was in an aggressive mood for top-ranked Duke, and it showed.
Redick started a rally late in the first half and finished with 29 points, leading the top-ranked Blue Devils to an 84-55 victory over Davidson on Saturday.
Redick shot 10-for-18, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range as the Blue Devils (3-0) took a break from the NIT Season Tip-Off and beat Davidson in its season opener.
“I just had an aggressive mindset,” Redick said. “We ran some good stuff for me today, and I made some moves off the dribble, and then there were some times when my teammates found me open for threes.”
“Overall, it was a good offensive day for me.”
Redick also played well on the defensive end, trying to keep Davidson’s 3-point shooters from trying to match him. Davidson only hit one 3-point shot in eight tries.
“We talked a lot about taking away their perimeter 3-point shots, so us perimeter guys had to play a lot of defense tonight, and it does feel like I played a little bit more than 36 minutes,” Redick said.
It’s the 19th straight victory for Duke in the series, and the 28th in 29 outings in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Davidson’s only victory in Durham came in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s second season.
Shelden Williams missed a triple-double by one blocked shot. He finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks. Both he and Redick had to contend with an aggressive Davidson defense that finally wilted under the duo’s performance.
“Overall, as a team, they did some different things as far as sending a double-team right away when Shelden got the ball, and also just being more physical with us,” Redick said. “But again, we got good stuff, executed well and scored 84 points.”
Lee Melchionni scored 16 points for Duke, which shot 55.6 percent from the field.
“Defensively, to give up only one three against that team and 55 points, this whole week, we have played outstanding defense,” Krzyzewski said.
Ian Johnson scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half for Davidson. Brendan Winters, who scored 11 in the first half on 5-for-8 shooting, finished with 17 on 8-for-15 shooting.
Both teams struggled with their shooting in the first 16 minutes, but Davidson shot just well enough to stay within five points, 25-20, late in the period.
Then, Redick took over and Duke took off.
Redick hit a 3-point shot at 4:14 and added two free throws at 3:52 to extend the edge to 30-20.
Williams hit the back end of a two-shot foul and Redick hit a 15-footer at 2:46, making what had been a close game a rout as Duke went up 33-20.
The final blow for Davidson came at the buzzer. Duke tried to find an opening for the last shot and got the ball to Redick. With two Wildcats in his face, Redick drilled a 3-pointer from in front of the Davidson bench to give the Blue Devils a 41-26 lead at the break.
“When you play 30 seconds of defense and they come in with that 3-point shot, that’s a dagger in your heart,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “It gives them energy, it inflates the crowd and it really deflates you.
“The psychological edge that the 3-point shot that they made at the buzzer is extraordinary.”
Duke’s stretched the lead to 24 when Williams drove the lane for a layup with 9:55 to go, pushing the advantage to 65-41. Davidson could only manage four points in the final five minutes.
