Men's hoops bedeviled in Durham

DURHAM, N.C. — The 'Cra-zies' collected at Cameron Indoor Stadium last night for the first time this season. Howling for their No. 2-ranked Blue Devils to claim first blood, the Duke fans would not be denied.

Visiting Princeton was clearly outmatched in its first outing of the 2000-2001 campaign, losing 87-50. Behind first-team All-American Shane Battier's school-record nine three pointers, the Blue Devils delivered the expected outcome — a rout.

Employing a collapsing zone to force the much bigger Blue Devils to the perimeter, Princeton kept the game close for the opening 10 minutes.

After junior forward Mike Bechtold's layup off an inbounds pass with 10:09 to play in the opening period, the Tigers were within two at 22-20. Backdoor cuts and three-point shots were both effective on the offensive end, while the zone held firm on defense.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout after Bechtold's bucket to stem the comeback and reconfigure his offense. Ten minutes later, cheers enveloped the Blue Devils as they ran to the locker room with a 49-25 lead.

"That last stretch in the first half is what killed us," Princeton head coach John Thompson '88 said after his trying first game at the helm. "I think we got tired right then. Once fatigue sets in, the mental part of the game goes also."

Turnover after turnover gave Duke easy fast break baskets that cured its early-game woes. Guard Mike Dunleavy and forward Nate James each had thunderous dunks that created a deafening crescendo of crowd noise.

Who's your daddy?

After halftime, Battier quickly killed any hopes Princeton might have had to engineer a comeback. With Tiger defenders giving him space out of respect for his size and driving ability, the senior nailed six of six three pointers on the half.

"[Battier] poses problems not just because of his size, but just because he can do anything," Thompson said.

"If people give us threes, we're going to take them," Krzyzewski said. "If they're there, we'll take them — against small, medium or large teams."

The beginning of the first half and majority of the second were marked by long stretches during which Princeton held its own against the powerful Blue Devils. Playing through the pain of his serious ankle injury, senior center Nate Walton carried the Tigers early with his precise backdoor assists.

Point man

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When Walton rested in the second half, freshman guard Ed Persia picked up the slack on passing. One of Persia's dishes drew admissions that "that was a great pass" from painted Crazies, as the freshman got Duke center Carlos Boozer off his feet on a drive before dumping the ball to Mike Bechtold for the easy lay-in.

In the end, Walton, Persia and the Tigers' efforts would win them neither the crowd nor the game, however. Krzyzewski showed compassion by removing his starters late in the game, but the crowd refused to relent, treating the Tigers for the rest of their visit to a haunting chant of "show no mercy."

Princeton takes on Monmouth Nov. 25. The Tigers' first home game of the season is Dec. 9 against Xavier.