DURHAM, N.C. — It took a while, but Gerald Henderson and No. 2 Duke finally started shooting well enough to impress even J.J. Redick.

Henderson scored 21 points and the Blue Devils shot 76 percent in the second half of their 73-56 victory over North Carolina State last night.

Nolan Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers 30 seconds apart to tie the game at 49, then gave the Blue Devils (17-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 52-49 lead they never lost.

But it wasn't until Henderson took over the game by hitting jumpers and driving the lane for authoritative dunks that his teammates started to find the seams in the Wolfpack's defense. As a result, Duke's athletic swingman finished with his fourth straight game with at least 19 points.

"(Henderson's) play gave the team a big lift — when someone plays with that much assertiveness and confidence, it kinds of feeds down to the whole team," forward Kyle Singler said. "Guys kind of get shots from that."

With Redick — the ACC's career scoring leader — watching from behind the Duke bench, Singler scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Smith finished with 13 to help the Blue Devils overcome a horrible start. Their 20-for-26 shooting matched the best performance in a second half in nearly three decades under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley both scored 15 points for the Wolfpack (10-6, 1-3), who led much of the game but hit just one field goal over the final 7:45.

"When we're sharp and running our stuff and executing it ... if we're doing it sharp, we're going to make shots," Henderson said. "We're going to get open shots and we have good enough players to knock them down."

No. 25 Illinois 67, Ohio State 49: Mike Tisdale scored 15 points and the host Illini (16-3, 4-2 Big 10) took a 38-26 halftime lead and pulled away in the second half to beat the Buckeyes (13-4, 3-3) for the first time in the past six games.

PACIFIC WEST MEN

GRAND CANYON 84, HAWAI'I-HILO 81: David Cuen scored 16 points, including a layup and free throw with 39 second left for an 82-81 lead, as the Argonauts (7-7, 2-1) rallied past the Vulcans (8-7, 2-3) in a Pacific West Conference game at Phoenix, Ariz.

After Cuen's three-point play, and three missed shots by UHH, Engen Nurumbi was fouled and made two free throws to make it 84-81 with three seconds left. John Smith and Jay De Maestri each scored 21 to lead UHH.

RANKED WOMEN

No. 7 Louisville 68, Cincinnati 50: Angel McCoughtry had 23 points, nine rebounds and eight steals, and the host Cardinals (19-1, 6-0 Big East) rolled to a 40-16 halftime lead in cruising past the Bearcats (13-5, 3-2).

No. 21 Rutgers 60, West Virginia 44: Epiphanny Prince scored 24 points and the host Scarlet Knights (11-5, 3-2 Big East) held the Mountaineers (11-7, 0-5) without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes while going on a 20-5 run.

No. 25 Pittsburgh 76, Seton Hall 40: Shavonte Zellous scored 29 points and the visiting Panthers (13-4, 3-2 Big East) used runs of 10-0 and 11-0 to take a 42-17 halftime lead in rolling past the Pirates (13-5, 2-4).

PACIFIC WEST WOMEN

GRAND CANYON 82, HAWAI'I-HILO 64: Rosalyn Nelson scored 23 points, Samantha Murphy added 23 and the Argonauts (9-6, 3-0) raced to a 45-35 halftime lead and never looked back in beating the Vulcans (7-5, 2-3) in a Pacific West Conference game at Phoenix, Ariz.

Amanda Adams scored 20 points and Sheila Azevedo added 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Vulcans.