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  Saturday, Dec. 11 4:00pm ET
Boozer leads Duke to sixth straight win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- There was some anxiety at Duke when freshman Carlos Boozer broke his foot back in August. Those fears ought to fade fast now.

Boozer scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dominated the last 10 minutes of the game as the Blue Devils (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) won their sixth straight with a 104-97 win over Michigan, snapping the Wolverines' six-game winning streak Saturday.

Jamal Crawford and  Shane Battier
Michigan's Jamal Crawford drives to the basket against Duke's Shane Battier on Saturday. Crawford led the Wolverines with 27 points.
"Boozer being able to complete plays was really big for us," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He broke his foot, so he's been a little slow in getting back.

"He's just starting to bounce back, and tonight he had a lot of bounce."

This also was a joyous homecoming for Shane Battier, who played high school ball at nearby Birmingham Detroit Country Day. Battier added 22 points for the Blue Devils (6-2) who opened their season with successive losses.

"I wanted to come in early and establish myself," said Battier, who heard chants of "sellout" every time he handled the ball. "I think after I hit that first basket, I knew I was in the groove."

Freshmen Jamal Crawford and Kevin Gaines let Michigan (6-1) with 27 and 23 points, respectively.

"This game was a learning experience," Crawford said. "It's encouraging to know we can play against the best."

The bigger, stronger Blue Devils -- who finished with a 44-36 rebounding edge -- owned the boards in the first half, especially at the offensive end where they had a 12-8 edge.

But the Wolverines, hoping a victory would vault them into the Top 25 in the weekly poll for the first time this season, were able to hang in mainly on hustle and the outside shooting of Gaines and Crawford, each of whom had two 3-pointers in the half.

Crawford hit two 3-pointers and Gaines another as the Wolverines went on a 13-6 run midway through the first half and took a 32-26 lead on a 3-pointer by Gaines with 7:47 left.

"I thought they took a lot of good shots tonight," Krzyzewski said. "It seems like any shot for Crawford is a good shot."

But the Blue Devils, with Boozer and Mike Dunleavy each scoring four points, responded with an 11-4 burst to forge a 37-36 lead with 4:28 left in the half.

The Wolverines appeared to tire at that point, scoring just one field goal the rest of the half. A three-point play by Boozer sent Duke off with a 48-42 halftime lead.

"I don't think either of us is going to hold a clinic on defense," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "For us to score 97 points against a team like that is remarkable. But to give up 104, that doesn't sit very well."

Another freshman, LaVell Blanchard, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, had a three-point play, followed by a 3-pointer as the Wolverines opened the second half with a 10-4 burst for a 52-all tie with 17:15 remaining.

Then, the Blue Devils took charge.

With Battier scoring six points, Duke went on a 19-6 run for a 69-58 lead with 12:53 left.

"We cut their lead and then we tied it, and then we got complaicent," Ellerbe said. "Then, Duke just took over."

Michigan made another rush, working the deficit to 83-80 with 6:10 left on the strength of five points from Blanchard and four free throws by Gaines.

But there was no way to control Boozer, who kept getting the ball down low for either baskets or free throws, scoring 14 of Duke's 16 points during one stretch. His dunk with 3:55 remaining put Duke ahead 91-81.

That proved to be too much for the Wolverines. Michigan's Leon Jones converted the foul on his driving layup into a three-point play to narrow the gap to 95-93 with 1:21 left.

"We did enough good things on the offensive end that, if Michigan didn't play with a lot of heart, it could have easily been a 15-point game," Krzyzewski said.

But a slick pass from Boozer to Battier led to an easy basket with 1:05 left, and the Blue Devils closed it with seven free throws during the final minute.

"Tonight, Boozer played his best game of the year for us," Krzyzewski said. "But, Battier was our pillar of strength."

Duke has a 14-7 edge in the series which began in 1963. Last season, Duke snapped a three-game winning streak with a 108-64 win over the Wolverines at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Still, the Blue Devils are just 5-4 in Crisler Arena where they hadn't won since 1993, which was Grant Hill's senior year.

 


ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Duke Clubhouse

Michigan Clubhouse