DURHAM — Freshman DJ Steward scored 21 points with seven assists, classmate Mark Williams set season highs with 18 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double, and Duke eased past Syracuse 85-71 on Monday night for a season best four-game winning streak.
Duke made eight of its first 12 3-pointers and had an assist on its first 16 field goals. The Blue Devils shot 61.3% in the first half, including 10 of 18 from distance, and scored a season-high 52 points with Steward, Jeremy Roach and Matthew Hurt each reaching double figures.
Syracuse trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half, two days after completing its largest comeback victory since 2005 by closing on a 42-12 run to beat Notre Dame. The closest the Orange would get to Duke in the second half was after scoring 10 straight points over the final 4:12.
Hurt, who was named the ACC player of the week after scoring 22 points in back-to-back games, finished with 15 points for Duke (11-8, 9-6). Roach, another freshman, added 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists. The Blue Devils assisted on 27 of 34 field goals while shooting 53.1%.
Buddy Boeheim led Syracuse (13-7, 7-6) with 21 points. Kadary Richmond added 15 points, Marek Dolezaj had 13 and Alan Griffin 11. Joe Girard was held scoreless in 18 minutes and fellow starter Quincy Guerrier had seven points and eight rebounds.
Duke, which was coming off a 66-65 upset of No. 7 Virginia, faces Louisville on Saturday. Syracuse is scheduled to play Georgia Tech on Saturday and closes its regular season against North Carolina on March 1.
UNC Greensboro 77, Western Carolina 56
CULLOWHEE — Kaleb Hunter and Isaiah Miller each had 15 points as UNC Greensboro easily defeated Western Carolina 77-56 on Monday.
Keyshaun Langley added 11 points and A.J. McGinnis had 10 for UNC Greensboro (17-7, 12-4 Southern Conference).
Cory Hightower had 15 points for the Catamounts (9-15, 2-13), who have now lost four consecutive games. Kameron Gibson added 11 points and six rebounds, and Sin’Cere McMahon had 10 points.
Elon 73, William & Mary 54
ELON — Ikenna Ndugba posted 17 points as Elon defeated William & Mary 73-54 on Monday night.
Darius Burford had 13 points and six rebounds for Elon (6-8, 3-7 Colonial Athletic Association). Chuck Hannah added 10 points.
The Phoenix forced a season-high 21 turnovers.
Luke Loewe had 15 points for the Tribe (6-9, 4-6). Yuri Covington added 13 points and Quinn Blair had 12.
The Phoenix improve to 2-0 against the Tribe on the season. Elon defeated William & Mary 75-54 last Saturday.
Gardner-Webb 69, South Carolina Upstate 58
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Jordan Sears and Jacob Falko each scored 18 points to lift Gardner-Webb to a 69-58 win over South Carolina Upstate on Monday night.
Kareem Reid grabbed nine rebounds for Gardner-Webb (11-14, 10-10 Big South Conference).
Tommy Bruner had 14 points for the Spartans (5-17, 5-11). Dalvin White added 13 points, Everette Hammond had 12 points and Josh Aldrich had a career-high 12 rebounds.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs evened the season series against the Spartans. South Carolina Upstate defeated Gardner-Webb 77-69 on Feb. 8.
