UAB Falls to No. 1 Duke, 85-64

Wednesday, January 5

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

UAB

Duke

UAB Falls to No. 1 Duke, 85-64

1/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Jan. 5, 2011

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Nolan Smith scored a career-high 33 points to help No. 1 Duke beat UAB, 85-64, Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

UAB's Jamarr Sanders hit a 3-pointer on the game's first possession only to see the Blue Devils answer with 16 straight points to blow the game open.

Kyle Singler added 15 points and scored his 2,000th career point during a game-opening 26-4 run that took the drama out of this one early. The Blue Devils (14-0) never let the Blazers (10-3) closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

"I thought there was a great opportunity for us before our conference play," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "We wanted to play this game to get ready for our conference. I talked to my team about not taking possessions off and being ready for just really good competition. Being ready for a team that plays at the level that we need to play at for 40 minutes. And I think it was a great lesson for us tonight."

Sanders ended the night with 21 points and Cameron Moore had 11 points and 15 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the season. Moore now ranks second in double-doubles in Conference USA.

The Blazers shot 40.4 percent from the floor against the Blue Devils (23 of 50) and were 9 of 20 from 3-point range (45 percent).

Anthony Criswell came off the bench and scored a career-high seven points and added three rebounds in nine minutes.

Smith had 20 points in the first half, then hit a free throw with 9:36 left to tie his previous career high of 29. He scored his personal-record basket on a one-handed dunk to make it 76-56 with 5:55 left. Smith finished 11 for 22 from the field to go with seven rebounds and five assists.

UAB's Johnson, who entered the game as the nation's leader in assists, had seven assists and six points before fouling out with just under eight minutes left in the game.

Three Blazers fouled out against Duke after UAB committed a season-high 22 fouls in the contest.

UAB returns home Saturday to open its C-USA slate against UTEP. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at Bartow Arena.