CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The shots kept clanging off the rim - open look after open look - yet Mike Krzyzewski repeatedly told his Duke players not to get frustrated. Eventually, he told them, the shots would fall. Once they did, the eighth-ranked Blue Devils grabbed control against their fiercest rival. Jon Scheyer scored 24 points and Duke (8-2 ACC, 20-4) pulled away in the final minutes to beat North Carolina (2-7, 13-11) 64-54 on Wednesday night, snapping a three-game losing streak in the series.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. Ed Davis walks to class wearing headphones like a shield against the negative vibe hanging over the North Carolina campus. Teammate Deon Thompson goes one better, rarely venturing out into public any more than he has to these days. “I just try to stay out of sight,“ the senior said. “It’s just tough to be around people when you’re losing.“

WASHINGTON - Chris Wright scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting and made two defensive plays that helped ignite an 18-3 run, giving the Hoyas the lead for good in the first half, in No. 7 Georgetown’s 89-77 victory over No. 8 Duke yesterday. Greg Monroe also scored 21, and Austin Freeman added 20 points for Georgetown (16-4), which shot 77 percent in the first half and 72 percent for the game.

CLEMSON, S.C.—Nolan Smith scored 22 points and No. 7 Duke wiped out an ugly memory from last season with a 60-47 victory over No. 17 Clemson last night. It was last February when the Blue Devils (4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference, 16-3) suffered their most lopsided defeat in nearly two decades, falling to the Tigers 74-47 at Littlejohn Coliseum.

TOP 10 WOMEN NO. 4 TENNESSEE 66, FLORIDA 64: Angie Bjorklund’s reverse layup with 2.3 seconds remaining lifted No.2 Tennessee (3-0 Southeastern Conference, 15-1) over host Florida last night. Florida (2-2, 9-8) had a final chance, but Lonnika Thompson’s 3-pointer clanged off the rim. Kelley Cain led the Lady Vols with 17 points and 10 rebounds. NO. 5 OHIO ST. 72, ILLINOIS 61: Samantha Prahalis scored 24 points, and Maria Moeller came off the bench to hit two critical 3-pointers, pushing No.5 Ohio State past visiting Illinois. Jantel Lavender was limited to 12 points for the Buckeyes (6-0 Big Ten, 18-1). Karisma Penn scored 21 points for the Illini (3-3, 11-5). NO. 7 DUKE 69, NO. 25 MIAMI 62: Reserve Krystal Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Duke remained perfect in the Atlantic Coast Conference by beating No.25 Miami. Jasmine Thomas was only 4 of 19 from the field but scored 16 points for Duke (3-0, 15-2). Shenise Johnson finished with 19 points for host Miami (1-1, 13-3).—From Wire Reports

BOSTON - Chaisson Allen scored 20 points and Northeastern pulled away in the first half to cruise to a 71-46 victory over George Mason last night. Allen hit a career-high six of Northeastern’s nine 3-pointers as the Huskies (3-1 Colonial Athletic Association, 8-7) won their sixth straight game and handed the Patriots (3-1, 8-7) their first conference loss of the season.

Gerald Henderson woke up Saturday around 10 a.m., unable to contain his excitement. He sprang from his hotel bed in Greensboro, N.C., and pulled on the athletic tights he wears to game-day shoot-arounds with Duke’s basketball team. Then he ran into the hallway and started doing jumping jacks. “Sweet 16!“ he screamed. “Sweet 16!“ Chris Carrawell, Duke’s graduate assistant coach, poked his head into the hall and looked at Henderson as if he were crazy. Later in the evening, Henderson laughed as he recounted the story.

ATLANTA—The Duke Blue Devils and the Florida State Seminoles won their ACC tournament semifinal games today to advance to tomorrow’s final. Duke’s Jon Scheyer scored 22 points and the Blue Devils rode a 12-2 second-half run to beat the Maryland Terps 67-61. Florida State’s Toney Douglas scored 27 points and the No. 22 Seminoles held on for a 73-70 victory over the top-ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

ATLANTA—Gerald Henderson scored the go-ahead basket with 34.8 seconds remaining and No. 9 Duke held on for a 66-65 ACC tournament victory over Boston College on Friday night. Rakim Sanders missed a last-second 3-pointer for Boston College after missing a jumper with 17.8 seconds left. Kyle Singler matched his career high with 26 points, Henderson had 16 and Jon Scheyer had 14 for Duke (26-6), which will face Maryland in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals on Saturday.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—James Johnson’s layup less than a second remaining helped No. 6 Wake Forest beat No. 1 Duke 70-68 tonight. Johnson finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu scored 15 points for the Demon Deacons (17-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). They bounced back from last week’s home loss against Virginia Tech that knocked them from No. 1 by leading the Blue Devils nearly the entire way. In the late going, Wake let a 13-point lead slip away, then recovered to claim the fifth victory over a top-ranked team in school history.