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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Shane Battier answered any doubts about his
ability to be a complete player Tuesday night.
Duke's Mr. Defense turned into Mr. Offense in the first round of
the Preseason NIT, scoring 29 points on a school-record nine
3-pointers as the second-ranked Blue Devils rolled over Princeton
87-50.
|  | | Shane Battier defends Princeton's C.J. Chapman in the first half, but had a much bigger impact on offense. |
After being fourth or fifth in the offensive pecking order on
talented Duke teams the past three years, coach Mike Krzyzewski
wanted Battier to shoot more.
The senior has always been a good listener.
"He does that in practice. It's not unusual," Krzyzewski said
of Battier's shooting ability from long range. "Not that you
expect him to go 9-for-12 from 3 every game, but I don't think this
is a once-in-a-career type of thing. He can shoot and our guys find
him."
It was apparent from the start that the 6-foot-8 Battier was
going to pose problems for the Tigers.
"It's such an uneven matchup for big guys," fellow senior Nate
James said. "Most big guys aren't used to going out there and
playing someone who can shoot the ball and drive it. It's an unfair
advantage. I'm just glad Shane Battier is on my team."
Battier, a preseason All-America, was surprised Princeton left
him so open.
"I had great looks," Battier said. "I was surprised I was
getting the looks that I did. I got the ball where I could do
something with it and I stuck it."
The Tigers, playing their first game under first-year coach John
Thompson III, allowed their most points since the seventh game of
the 1994-95 season.
Jason Williams added 17 points and James had 15 as Duke was
15-for-30 from beyond the arc in Krzyzewski's 499th win at Duke.
Mike Bechtold had 12 points to lead Princeton.
Duke led by 24 points at halftime by holding the Tigers without
a basket over a 9½-minute stretch. The Blue Devils then hit five
straight 3-pointers to start the second half as Battier had three, and the lead reached 34.
Battier made two more long-range shots later in the second half
before Krzyzewski took his star out with 5:18 left and the Blue
Devils up 81-45. William Avery set the previous Duke record of
eight 3-pointers against Florida in 1998.
"After starting 0-2 last year, getting that first win seems much
more difficult," Battier said. "Since we played well tonight we
can use that as momentum Friday."
The Blue Devils will play host to Villanova, which beat
Fairfield 101-85, in the quarterfinals Friday night with the
winner headed to Madison Square Garden next week.
Princeton lost coach Bill Carmody to Northwestern and six other
top returners since Aug. 31 and was starting a freshman point guard
in Thompson's debut as a head coach.
That's never good, but against a power like Duke, it was a
disaster.
The only drama after the opening 20 minutes was whether Duke
would score 100 points off a team that last allowed such an
outburst from an opponent 859 games ago.
Duke fell short of that mark, but not much else.
Duke warmed up early from 3-point range against Princeton's
match-up zone, making four of its first five, but then missed seven
straight from beyond the arc as the Tigers pulled within 22-20.
Then the Blue Devils poured it on as Princeton managed just five
points on three free throws and a layup over the final 10 minutes
of the half.
Williams hit a 3-pointer to get Duke off and running before
James scored on two follows, a 17-footer and a slam after his steal
to spark a closing 27-5 run.
Duke's pressing defense forced eight turnovers during that span
as the Tigers didn't have time to think about their famous backdoor
plays.
"They made a lot of baskets and we didn't make enough,"
Thompson said. "We got tired right then and once fatigue sets in
the mental part of the game goes also. We made some dumb mistakes
we shouldn't have made. We made some pretty bad turnovers."
The Tigers shot 56 percent in the first half, but managed just
16 shots as Duke forced them into 14 turnovers.
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ALSO SEE
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Princeton Clubhouse
Duke Clubhouse
New-look Hoosiers win in Davis' debut
Villanova beats Fairfield behind Bradley's 22 points
South Alabama defense clamps down on Marquette in 67-54 win
NIT at a glance
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Dunleavy finishes it off after Duke shows the good ball movement.
avi: 834 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Nate James strips the ball then finishes at the other end.
avi: 1457 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Princeton does what they do best as Kyle Wente works the backdoor with Nate Walton.
avi: 1195 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mike Dunleavy slams home the missed shot.
avi: 926 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Shane Battier talks with the ESPN crew after setting a school-record nine 3-pointers.
wav: 577 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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