Jon Scheyer’s 16 points, 6 assists lead No. 7 Duke over Arizona State 64-53 at MSG

Scheyer leads No. 7 Duke over Arizona State 64-53

NEW YORK — Jon Scheyer had 16 points and six assists, and No. 7 Duke used a 19-3 second-half run to take control of a 64-53 victory over Arizona State on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Nolan Smith had 14 points and Kyle Singler added 13 for Duke (5-0), which led by only four at halftime.

The Sun Devils (4-1), who managed to stay close behind their patient offense and pesky zone defense, tied it at 43 on two free throws by Derek Glasser with 13:11 to play only to see Duke break it open with the deciding run.

The Blue Devils will face No. 13 Connecticut in the championship game Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies beat LSU 81-55 in the other semifinal.

Singler, who missed eight of his first nine shots from the field, made his second straight to give the Blue Devils the lead for good. After Singler scored again in the lane, Scheyer hit his only 3-pointer to make it 50-43. Rihards Kuksiks’ three-point play slowed the run some but the Blue Devils were back at it behind some suddenly effective defense that allowed Arizona State just that one field goal over a 10-minute span.

Trent Lockett, limited to 30 minutes by foul trouble, and Glasser both had 13 points for the Sun Devils.

The victory allowed Duke to extend some impressive streaks. This was its 11th straight win in this tournament as the Blue Devils swept to the title in 2000 and 2005. They also won the inaugural tournament in 1985.

This was Duke’s fourth straight win at Madison Square Garden and the 11th in its last 12 games in the building. It also was the Blue Devils’ 21st straight win in November, a streak that dates to a 2006 loss to Marquette.

Scheyer hit a 3 as he was falling in front of the Arizona State bench to give the Blue Devils a 34-30 lead with 4.8 seconds left in the first half.

Scheyer committed his first turnover of the season 8:02 into the game. The senior guard entered with 21 assists and no turnovers in 131 minutes over the first four games.

His first turnover of the season came when he stepped on the sideline as the Blue Devils were setting up a play, but it didn’t lead to any points for the Sun Devils. He finished with two turnovers in the game.