Duke Bombards Army

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knew his No. 18 Blue Devils were supposed to beat Army. But he needed to check each detail before declaring it a real victory.

"It's a game where we should win, but the caliber of play determines how I feel about it. And I feel good about it," he said Saturday following the 100-42 home-opener victory.

Shane Battier led Duke with 17 points. Nate James and Carlos Boozer each added 15 and Chris Carrawell and Jason Williams had 14 apiece for the Blue Devils (1-2).

"We were so inefficient and non-productive inside up in New York that we have been working and working on establishing a real post game," said Krzyzewski, who played and coached at Army.

With the score tied 2-2, Duke went on an 11-0 run to take a lead it would not relinquish. Casey Sanders dunked and Carrawell followed on the next possession with a jumper to increase the lead to 13-2 with 16:27 to go in the first half.

After a 52-15 halftime lead, Duke didn't allow the Cadets to score again until Chris Spatola hit a 3-pointer with 14:46 left to make it 67-18.

Williams' basket after Boozer's steal increased the lead to 82-18 with 8:19 remaining. Army ended a 15-0 run by Duke on the Cadets' next possession on Ray Frederick's 3-pointer with 8:50 to go.

Battier's second dunk, a one-handed slam, 30 seconds later elicited a huge roar from the already boisterous Cameron Crazies.

Reserv Ryan Caldbeck scored the 100th point for Duke, a free throw with 1:18 left, his only point of the game. said.

Along with shooting and defending better, Krzyzewski was pleased to see even small improvements.

Sanders made all six of his free throws, including one following an intentional foul, and Williams was careful to not get another foul after two were called on him in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the game.

"There are a lot of little things that we're working on with everybody. Like Casey's free throws even when they're with a lead, and he even made some with nobody on the lane," Krzyzewski said. "I thought Jason did a good job in first half ... not to get the third (foul). Things like that those are all learning things for our guys."

Duke, relying on the first freshman since Bobby Hurley in 1990 to start at point guard, didn't need Williams to do much decision-making. The defense made it nearly impossible for Army to score from anywhere, and 24 of Duke's points came on Army turnovers.

The Duke fans got a first-hand look at many of the new players who will have to carry the team after the early departures of Elton Brand, William Avery and Corey Maggette to the NBA.

Freshman Mike Dunleavy, who had two points and six rebounds, made a precise pass from half court to Carrawell under the basket, which Carrawell laid into the net to make it 28-8 with 9:47 left in the first half.

Battier grabbed a loose ball dropped by Army's Mike Canty and ran down the court, finishing with a dunk to make it 32-8 with 8:28 to go. Army had nine personal fouls before it got nine points.

Spatola led Army with 15 points, including four 3-pointers.

"Coming into this game, we know it's an uphill battle," Army coach Pat Harris said. "Duke's a team that is one stop away from being 3-0 rather than 1-2."

Duke increased its home winning streak to 37, longest in school history. The last opponent to win in Cameron Indoor Stadium was Wake Forest on Jan. 11, 1993, and the current streak began with the next home game, a win over Campbell.

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