No. 6 Duke Cools Off Red Hot St. John’s

Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Kyle Singler scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as No. 6 Duke handed St. John's its first loss this season, an 80-71 decision at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Blue Devils (7-1), who were coming off a loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday. Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek were efficient off the bench, scoring 11 each and combining for 15 boards.

D.J. Kennedy led St. John's (6-1) in scoring with 18 points, while Sean Evans added 17 in defeat.

The Red Storm led 15-14 after a Dwight Hardy field goal roughly seven minutes into the game, but Duke took control by scoring the next 17 points.

Smith hit a pair of three-pointers during the stretch, and Singler's layup finished it off for a 31-15 edge with 7 1/2 minutes remaining until halftime.

The difference at the break was 40-24, but 10 straight points from the Red Storm midway through the second half made things interesting.

Back-to-back Kennedy three-pointers started the run before Thomas' jumper from the left elbow calmed the Storm for a 56-50 Duke lead at the 9:42 mark.

Singler's trey and Smith's old-fashioned three-point play a little later made it a 64-52 with seven minutes remaining. Consecutive Singler makes on the next two possessions made it a 16-point game that was never threatened down the stretch.

Duke has won 73 consecutive non-conference home games. St John's was the last team to beat the Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium, doing so on February 26, 2000...St. John's was 6-0 for the first time since 1994-95...Duke has won seven in a row and nine of the last 10 over St. John's...Thomas pulled down eight rebounds, while Zoubek had seven.