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Tuesday, Nov. 30 9:00pm ET
Carrawell takes game over in crunch time

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CHICAGO (AP) -- Elton Brand, William Avery, Corey Maggette and Trajan Langdon packed up and headed to the NBA, their Duke careers over -- some before they hardly got started.

Chris Carrawell said his goodbyes long ago. And now as the team's lone senior, it's his turn to lead the Blue Devils.


	Shane Battier extends for a jumphook over Robert Archibald.

"It's my time to step up," he said Tuesday night after doing just that. He scored 21 points, hit two free throws with 14 seconds left and played tough defense as the Blue Devils (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) beat No. 16 Illinois 72-69 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

"I've been in different roles since I've been here. I've played down low, I've played sixth man. Now, I'm ready," Carrawell said.

"Every time there's a big shot to be taken, it's either me or Shane (Battier), who's going to be taking it."

After Carrawell's two free throws put the Blue Devils (4-2) ahead by three, Illinois' Frank Williams missed a 3-pointer, Duke's Jason Williams rebounded and was able to dribble out the clock.

"I wanted to be in that situation, the shot didn't fall," Frank Wiliams said. "Whenever I get a shot like that, I'm going to take it."

Jason Williams added 17 points and Battier had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Duke. Cory Bradford and Williams scored 14 points each for Illinois (2-1) but both had tough shooting nights. Bradford, being closely defended from Carrawell, shot just 5-of-19, while Williams was 4-of-17.

"He's 6-6 and he's difficult to shoot over," said Bradford, last year's Big Ten freshman of the year. "I'm expecting a lot of big guys to guard me this year. We just forced some shots and didn't take our time."

Brand, the Chicago Bulls' No. 1 pick in the NBA draft after leaving Duke early, was seated near the Blue Devil bench and showed little emotion as he watched his former team pull out the victory after trailing by five at the half. He did go into the locker room after the game and talked with Carrawell.

Duke's victory was its fourth straight after opening losses to Stanford and Connecticut.

"It's not going to be like last year, beating everybody by 25 or 30," said Carrawell, referring to last year's 37-2 season that ended with a loss in the NCAA Finals. "Teams think Duke's a little weak now, so it's important for us to come out with a sense of urgency."

Carrawell, made two free throws to put the Blue Devils ahead 70-66 before Bradford hit two for the Illini to make it a two-point game with 1:37 remaining.

A charging foul on Jason Williams gave the Illini the ball with 55 seconds left. Robert Archibald made one of two at the line, leaving the Illini a point behind with 41 seconds left.

Carrawell's game-tying three-point play started a quick 10-0 Blue Devil run and put Duke up 57-50 with 9:18 to go. The key play was a 3-pointer by Mike Dunleavy, who hit the shot after a free throw bounced long right into his hands.

Williams hit two straight 3-pointers to get the Illini within 68-63 with 3:34 left before Archibald's tip with 2:39 left brought Illinois within two with 2:39 left.

With one of the loudest crowds at the United Center since Michael Jordan was still playing for the Bulls, the Illini rebounded from a slow start to take a 40-35 halftime lead.

Cleotis Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers and made a bank shot as the Illini closed the half with 13-2 run that featured 11 straight points.

The Blue Devils came out quickly, jumping out 19-9 behind three baskets by freshman Dunleavy.

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