SYRACUSE, N.Y. _ Vernon Carey's powerful play inside and contributions from up and down Duke's deeper bench paced the No. 9 Blue Devils on Saturday night.
Carey scored 26 points with 17 rebounds and four other Blue Devils scored in double figures as Duke pulled away in the second half to beat Syracuse, 97-88, in ACC basketball before a crowd of 31,458 at the Carrier Dome.
A 6-10 freshman, Carey amassed his points while making 9 of 14 shots from the field as the Blue Devils were effective getting the ball to him in the low post against Syracuse's zone defense.
As good as Carey was, Duke (18-3, 8-2 ACC) needed production from others to subdue the Orange (13-9, 6-4) and got it from an unexpected place.
Junior guard Alex O'Connell, who hadn't played more than 12 minutes in a game since a Jan. 11 win over Wake Forest, contributed 11 points with three assists and two steals.
Sophomore guard Tre Jones scored 17 points, making 10 of 10 free throws for Duke. Freshman forward Cassius Stanley finished with 15 points and fellow freshman Matthew Hurt added 12.
Senior forward Javin DeLaurier contributed eight points, all coming in the first half when Carey and Hurt each had two fouls.
After leading 40-36 at halftime, Duke quickly pushed its lead to double digits with a quick 9-3 spurt to start the second half. Cassius Stanley started the run with a 3-point and Carey scored two baskets inside, including a dunk.
Stanley followed with a rebound basket off a Carey miss for a 49-39 Duke lead.
The Blue Devils led by as many as 15 points in the second half, taking a 71-56 lead on two Hurt free throws with 9:05 left.
Duke went nearly five minutes without a field goal and seven turnovers during that stretch allowed the Orange to pull within 79-74 on Bourama Sidibe's tip-in basket with 3:06 left.
But Stanley got loose against the Orange press for a layup, drawing a foul in the process of ending Duke's field-goal drought. His free throw with 3:01 to play halted Syracuse's rally to put Duke up 82-74. The Blue Devils' lead never fell below six points again.
Marek Dolezaj scored 22 points and Elijah Hughes added 21 for Syracuse, which shot 38.6 percent.
Duke received a boost as freshman guard Wendell Moore played his first game since Jan. 4. Moore missed six games after suffering a broken bone in his right hand. He had surgery on Jan. 6. He had started five of Duke's first 14 games before his injury. He came off the bench to play against Syracuse, scoring five points with three assists in 23 minutes before fouling out.
Syracuse entered the game having made 35.2% of its 3-pointers this season. But the Orange shoot poorly from the perimeter, allowing Duke to build its double-digit lead in the second half. Syracuse missed 13 of its first 14 3-pointers and finished 6 of 26 (23 percent) in the game.
