Nelson Guides Duke Past Georgia Southern, 72-48

Monday, November 13

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Georgia Southern

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Nelson Guides Duke Past Georgia Southern, 72-48

11/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - DeMarcus Nelson scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as 10th-ranked Duke defeated Georgia Southern, 72-48, in the second round of the CBE Classic on Monday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (2-0) advances to the semifinals of the CBE Classic and will meet the winner of the Palo Alto Regional (Stanford vs. San Jose State; Air Force vs. Long Beach State) on Monday, November 20 at 7 p.m. (ESPN 2) in Kansas City, Mo. Previous champions of the event are Missouri (2001), Creighton (2002 & 2004), South Carolina (2003), and Texas (2005). Prior to making the trip to Kansas City, the Blue Devils will host UNC Greensboro on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Georgia Southern (1-1) jumped out to a 4-0 advantage and led 18-12 on Dwayne Foreman's three-point bucket at the 11:31 mark of the first half. The lead changed hands 11 times in the first half, and Duke closed the half with a 9-2 run as Nelson's three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Blue Devils a 38-32 lead at intermission. Ahead by six at 44-38, Lance Thomas started a 9-0 run with a layup and the Blue Devils took a 53-38 lead on Gerald Henderson's jumper with 14:28 left in the contest. Georgia Southern would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

The Blue Devils limited the Eagles to 16 points in the second half as Georgia Southern made just seven-of-33 (.212) field goals over the final 20 minutes. Duke's offensive efficiency increased following intermission as the Blue Devils went from 41.7 percent (10-of-24) shooting from the floor in the first half to 58.3 percent (14-of-24) in the second stanza.

Josh McRoberts added 16 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots while Gerald Henderson had 13 points and a pair of steals. Jon Scheyer chipped in 11 points, four boards and four assists.

Georgia Southern was led by 18 points from Foreman but Donte Gennie, who scored a game-best 26 points in the Eagles' win over UC Davis on Sunday evening, was held to four points on two-of-15 shooting from the floor.