NEW YORK - Nolan Smith scored 24 points, Jon Scheyer added 20 and No. 7 Duke held No. 15 Gonzaga to its lowest point total in 25 years in a 76-41 victory on Saturday in the Aeropostale Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Smith and Scheyer, the starting backcourt for Duke, made sure the start of the second half was nothing like the beginning of the game for the Blue Devils (9-1).
Duke missed 12 of its first 15 shots from the field and it was only that the Bulldogs (8-3) were struggling as well, making only two of their first 10 shots, that the game was close for the first 15 minutes.
The Blue Devils were able to straighten things out offensively enough to take a 31-17 halftime lead, but they missed all six of their 3-point attempts.
Smith hit two 3s and Scheyer added another in a 9-1 run to open the second half and the rout was one.
Scheyer, who was coming off a career-high 36 points against Gardner-Webb when he was two rebounds and an assist shy of a triple-double, had eight assists. Scheyer, who entered the game leading the nation with a 6.4:1 assist-turnover ratio, had two turnovers.
The point total was the lowest for Gonzaga since a 62-40 loss to Iowa on Nov. 28, 1984.
Robert Sacre led the Bulldogs with nine points on 2-of-11 shooting.
The win was the sixth straight at Madison Square Garden for the Blue Devils and the third this season as they beat Arizona State and Connecticut in the semifinals and finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Duke has an all-time record of 26-14 at the Garden, 21-6 under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The Bulldogs came into the game averaging 79.5 points and were shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 37.5 from 3-point range.
Their numbers Saturday weren't even close. Gonzaga shot 27.8 percent (15 of 54) and made one of 10 3-point attempts while committing 18 turnovers.
Gonzaga fell to 1-4 all-time at Madison Square Garden.
Despite the winter weather, there was a crowd of 14,554, most Duke fans.
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