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LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) -- Duke's season-opening victory wasn't
secure until the final buzzer. Win No. 2 for the top-ranked Blue
Devils was decided with a 19-0 run over the last five minutes of
the first half.
|  | | Duke's Carlos Boozer collects the sure bucket over Jamel Bradley. |
The defending national champions beat South Carolina 81-56
Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, less than 24
hours after they escaped with a one-point win over Seton Hall in
the opening round.
"What we did the last five minutes of the first half was
something we were striving for since the start of the tournament,"
said Mike Dunleavy, who had 11 points in the run. "We found our
niche and made some big stops and fed off our defense."
The Blue Devils, who won this tournament in 1992 and 1997, go
for a third title in Wednesday night's championship game against
Ball State, which beat UCLA 91-73. The Cardinals beat Kansas 93-91 in the opening round.
The 80-79 win over Seton Hall was still fresh when South
Carolina's Carlos Powell hit a jumper to tie it at 25-25 with 5:14
left in the first half.
Duke held the Gamecocks (1-1) scoreless over their next nine
possessions and closed the half with the 19-0 run to make the
previous night seem a distant memory.
"We can have a run like that without pressing, it was
possession by possession," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I
thought we played outstanding defense today, and that carried over
from the second half of yesterday."
Dunleavy started the run with a 3-pointer, and he added eight
more points before it ended just before the halftime buzzer when
Nick Horvath took a beautiful pass from Chris Duhon on the break
and dunked with authority to make it 44-25.
Dunleavy had 22 of his 24 points in the half on 8-for-12
shooting. He had more field goals than South Carolina (7-for-24)
and three less points. Duke shot 53 percent (19-for-36), almost
double the 29-percent effort by the Gamecocks.
"Mike had an amazing first half," Krzyzewski said.
South Carolina got within 51-36 with 16:57 left as Duke failed
to score on three consecutive possessions. Krzyzewski angrily
slapped his hands three times after the last of those turnovers and
screamed "Come on!" at his team.
Duhon, who was bothered by severe cramps in the game against
Seton Hall and didn't start against South Carolina, hit a 3-pointer
for Duke the next time down. Preseason All-American Jason Williams
then stole the ball and went in for a long layup to restore the
20-point lead and let Krzyzewski return to his seat.
"We were playing so well and those turnovers were unforced and
led to easy points, and you can't fool around with a game like
that," he said. "It wasn't like they wanted to commit those
turnovers, but they got a careless and the kids responded."
Duke was looking like the consensus No. 1 team in the country
for the first time this season.
Carlos Boozer added 19 points for Duke, while Williams had six
points, seven assists and four steals.
"It was just defense," Boozer said. "If we all play defense
together the offense comes naturally."
Aaron Lucas had 13 points and Powell added 11 for the Gamecocks,
who beat Chaminade 74-61 in the opening round of the tournament
sponsored by EA Sports.
"Duke passed the ball well, they shot the ball well, rebounded
well and played great defense and still there were a lot of things
about my team I liked," said first-year South Carolina coach Dave
Odom. "We established the tempo and pace we wanted at the start by
attacking on offense, but basketball played at the level a team
like Duke plays at takes a full 40 minutes and we weren't capable
of that."
Odom, who coached at Wake Forest for the last 12 seasons and saw
Duke at least twice a year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, was
impressed with Dunleavy.
"Mike Dunleavy took three, maybe four impossible shots, well
they weren't impossible because he made them but they looked
impossible to me and they came against a very credible defense,"
Odom said.
Dunleavy played down any individual accolades.
"My teammates found me and hit some shots," he said. "But it
was all defense." | 
South Carolina vs. Duke