US Sport story by Dominic Taylor, Fri, 03 Feb 2006 03:44:00 GMT


Duke forward Shelden Williams, displayed nerves of steel as he held back a late surge by BC guard Tyrese Rice to ensure a narrow 2 point win for the Blue Devils in a Atlantic Coast Conference game last night.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski acknowledged that Williams' defense was the key to their victory, "We're spoiled by his defense. He doesn't leap tall buildings with a single bound, but he got seven blocks tonight. That was a terrific play, as were his free throws," he said. J.J. Redick thumped in 28 points and Williams contributed his own 21 to ensure that the second placed Dukes maintained their position over the 15th-placed Boston College.

In addition to their efforts, Josh McRoberts made 14 points and Sean Dockery scored 12 as the Blue Devils recorded their third successive win after their loss at Georgetown on the 21st of January. Boston College were equal to the occasion as Jared Dudley rattled up 28 points, but his stellar display was not enough to secure a point for his team.

After the game J.J. Redick said that the present Duke team has players who put their hands up in times of crisis, "In previous years, the Duke teams I've been on lost this game. We didn't have the guys that could step up. This team does," he said.

BC's potential match winner was on the bench though, Craig Smith managed just eight points and fouled up and had to stay put with just three minutes left, "There wasn't much I could do but sit there and be a cheerleader," Smith said after the match. "That team was picked to be the national champions and you lose to them by two points. That says something."

More Sporting Stuff