Tue, Feb 21, 2006 page19

• Redick breaks Duke scoring record

  • AP
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  J.J. Redick lost a defender around a screen, took a pass in front of the Duke bench and launched a 3-pointer that had an entire arena holding its breath.

  The ball swished through, touching off an earsplitting roar and vaulting Redick to the top of Duke's career scoring list.

  The senior sharpshooter scored 30 points to break Johnny Dawkins' school record and help the second-ranked Blue Devils beat Miami 92-71 on Sunday, a win that could push them back to No. 1.

  

  Duke's J.J. Redick, right, shoots over Miami's Anthony Harris to break Duke's all-time scoring record during the second half in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday. Redick passed assistant coach Johnny Dawkins by one point on the all-time list with 2,557 points.

  PHOTO: AP

  Redick finished 10-for-15 from the field and hit six 3-pointers for the Blue Devils (25-1, 13-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), passing Dawkins, now an assistant coach at Duke, by one point on the career list with 2,557 points. Redick also moved into second place on the ACC career list, 30 points behind Wake Forest's Dickie Hemric.

  Redick said he felt blessed to set the record. He also sounded relieved to move forward after weeks of hearing fans count down his pursuit of history or scream for him to shoot practically every time he touched the ball.

  "I've tried to stay focused on the team all year, but these last two games as they've approached it's been tough," Redick said. "It is nice to take care of the record and get back to focusing on the team, which is the most important thing."

  It was just the latest in a growing list of milestones for Redick. Redick set the NCAA record for career 3-pointers in Tuesday's win against Wake Forest, and followed that with his school-record 13th 30-point game of the season.

  Redick was honored at midcourt after the game, receiving a game ball from Dawkins, athletics director Joe Alleva and university president Richard Brodhead. Redick pointed one finger in the air as he walked to midcourt, hugged all three men, then pointed to the fans as camera flashes rolled through Cameron Indoor Stadium.

  "When I went out there, it took everything for me not to cry," Redick said.

  His teammates joined in the celebration, congratulating him after he was pulled late in the game with Duke up 20, then playfully mobbing him after his midcourt ceremony.

  Coach Mike Krzyzewski stood and watched from the sideline.

  "When you're that scorer, you're marked, and in our league, you're usually marked by athletes," Krzyzewski said. "And you're not only being played by them, but you're being double-teamed by another athlete. In a league like ours, for him to do what he has done is truly amazing."

  Shelden Williams added 17 points and 15 rebounds for Duke, which could move up in the rankings after top-ranked Connecticut's loss to Villanova earlier in the week. The Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 through the first 11 polls before falling to No. 2 with a loss at Georgetown on Jan. 21.

  The Blue Devils have won eight straight since. They jumped to a big lead late in the first half against the Hurricanes (14-12, 6-7) and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way to clinch the top seed in next month's ACC tournament.

  Guillermo Diaz scored 23 points to lead Miami, which has lost four straight conference games after a surprising 6-3 start.

  Redick scored 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting to help the Blue Devils to a 59-43 lead at the break. Things slowed down for him in the second half, with Miami's zone defense paying him special attention.

  "As you can see, it didn't help because he still got 30 points," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "He finds ways. He is smart. It is like anything you do, it will work for a short period of time."

  Duke led 40-36 before taking control with a 19-4 run to take a 59-40 lead with 52.4 seconds left in the half. Freshman Josh McRoberts scored eight with six coming on free throws during that spurt, during which Haith became so frustrated at the officiating -- "We can't touch them!" he yelled at one point -- that he was whistled for a technical foul.

  Oklahoma St. 81, No. 6 Texas 60

  Coach Eddie Sutton called the Oklahoma State locker room Sunday afternoon and offered words of praise to his team.

  "He said that looks like an Oklahoma State basketball team," said his son -- and the Cowboys' interim coach -- Sean Sutton. "That was probably the best compliment he could have given me."

  Indeed, the Cowboys played like a team inspired, rather than distracted, by the recent chaos surrounding Eddie Sutton as they rode a 22-point, nine-rebound outing from JamesOn Curry to a 81-60 rout of No. 6 Texas.

  Many of the 9,053 fans -- a season low for Oklahoma State, due in part to icy road conditions -- stormed the court after the win, Oklahoma State's second this season against a ranked opponent. The Cowboys (14-12, 4-8 Big 12) had lost seven of their previous eight games, but gave Sutton his 795th career win in a most unlikely fashion, dominating a team in the running for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

  "Obviously I'm very proud of our players. We needed that," Sean Sutton said. "Oklahoma State needed that.

  "I kept telling them all week long that if they would work hard and listen, then good things would happen and they would be rewarded. Everything we asked them to do, and told them what it would take to win this basketball game, they did."

  The emotion was evident in Sean Sutton's voice and his actions. As the clock wound down, he worked his way down the bench, hugging his players.

  It was the third game that Sean Sutton guided the team. Oklahoma State officials have said that even though Eddie Sutton is on a medical leave of absence, any Cowboys victories will go on his record.

  Eddie Sutton was injured in an accident Feb. 10 and subsequently charged with drunk driving. He took the medical leave three days after the accident and admitted Wednesday that he had an alcohol problem.

  Sutton, who underwent treatment for alcoholism in 1987 when he was the coach at Kentucky, has said he'll seek further treatment for his drinking problem starting later this week.

  Oklahoma State kept the game at a slower pace in the first half and limited Texas to 29.2 percent shooting, a combination that a resulted in a 31-20 halftime lead for the Cowboys.

  Conference leader Texas (22-4, 10-2) struggled against the physical defense and couldn't overcome early foul trouble to guard Daniel Gibson.

  USC 71, No. 15 UCLA 68

  Dwayne Shackleford, normally doesn't get to play much, averaging 11.8 minutes and 2.9 points per game.

  The senior from Washington, DC, went scoreless in five first-half minutes Sunday night, but got his chance early in the second half when starting point guard Ryan Francis picked up his third and fourth fouls and went to the bench.

  Shackleford made the most of his opportunity, getting 12 points and three assists in 16 second-half minutes, leading short-handed USC to a 71-68 upset over No. 15 UCLA.

  "Shack's a good player," said Nick Young, who led the Trojans with 15 points and six rebounds. "He's been in situations like that for a long time. I'm glad he stepped up like that tonight."

  Shackleford was 4-of-4 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the foul line, helping USC snap a season-high three-game losing streak.

  "My policy is to just stay ready. I'm always ready to go," he said. "Anything can happen. You can't be timid. I just play; I figure if I play hard, good things will happen. We just dropped three in a row. I'm just glad we got the win -- we need that."
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