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DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- A tired Duke found a fifth gear Saturday.
|  | | Duke's Dahntay Jones gives Darius Songaila the cold shoulder. |
Jason Williams had 23 points, Dahntay Jones added 22 and Carlos
Boozer 20 and 18 rebounds as the top-ranked Blue Devils fought off
fatigue and rolled over Wake Forest (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) 103-80.
It was Duke's fourth straight ACC win in convincing fashion
since a stunning loss to Florida State on Jan. 6, and came less
than 48 hours after a win over No. 3 Maryland.
"Right now we're emotionally and physically drained but it's
worth it," Williams said.
"We approached this stretch as a Final Four," added Chris
Duhon. "You play one great team one night and it takes a lot out
of you, then you have to come back in two days and play again. We
handled it well."
Since the loss to the Seminoles, the Blue Devils have beaten
Georgia Tech by 25, N.C. State by 19, Maryland by 21 and the Demon
Deacons by 23 to secure their hold on the No. 1 ranking.
"We're having a really good time out there, playing together
again," Mike Dunleavy said of the recent stretch. "This
basketball team is really maturing."
Duke (16-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) broke the 100-point
mark for the fifth time this season two days after getting 99
against the Terrapins to once again take command of the ACC race.
"We try not to teach our team an offense, we try to teach our
team offense," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team shot
54 percent and turned it over just eight times. "Offense is about
making reads. Our guys are allowed to make their own reads and they
made some really good reads today."
Wake Forest (13-5, 3-2) knew it was in trouble after it shot 56
percent in the first half, had only four turnovers and still
trailed 61-49.
"They're like an incendiary device, ticking away," Wake Forest
coach Skip Prosser said.
Duke led 73-70 on Thursday night before it closed out Maryland
with a 26-8 run.
The Blue Devils had another big run in them Saturday after Wake
Forest had closed to 76-73 with 10:41 left.
Williams started Duke's stretch of 16 straight points with a
driving layup that resulted in a three-point play, Boozer got a
hoop on a goaltending call and Duhon made a shot in the lane as the
Blue Devils went back up by 10.
Later in the surge, Williams made driving layups less than a
minute apart and Dunleavy hit a 3-pointer as Duke closed it out
with a 27-7 run.
"They are sharks," Prosser said. "They see that blood in the
water and all it takes is one drop and they're ravenous."
"Our players really gutted it out in those last 10 minutes,"
Krzyzewski added. "I thought our execution was sensational."
The Demon Deacons, who lost two straight for the first time this
season, opted to play Jones soft to double-team Boozer in
the post and put pressure on the perimeter.
The move backfired as the former Rutgers transfer had the best
game of brief Duke career, getting a season-high point total on
8-for-14 shooting.
"I think we proved today you can't leave Dahntay out there.
He's going to hit shots, he's going to get rebounds," Dunleavy
said.
"That's also kind of disrespectful to him. I guess that's
called playing the odds, that's the percentages against us, but I
don't think it's going to work. It's not like he's a bad player."
Darius Songaila led Wake Forest with 16 points and Josh Howard
added 15 before fouling out with 6:20 left.
The Demon Deacons stayed in the game late into the first half
despite a series of problems, including injuries to point guard
Broderick Hicks and Howard, and three starters in foul trouble.
Hicks picked up two fouls in the opening 3:01 trying to guard
Williams, then left with 7:42 remaining before the half with a deep
thigh bruise after running into press row chasing a loose rebound.
He was followed to the bench two minutes later by Howard, who
had a hip pointer. Howard returned late in the half, but picked up
his third foul to join Songaila and Craig Dawson with three fouls
each as Duke began to take control.
Things don't get any easier for Wake Forest, who play No. 3
Maryland at home on Wednesday night.
"I'm not really a mood guy," Prosser said when asked how his
team reacted to the lopsided loss. "I hope they're really upset. I
hope they're very, very, very upset. I hope they're angry and they
bring that anger to practice on Monday." | 
Duke vs. Wake Forest