DURHAM, N.C. ? In the first and likely only start of his career, Patrick Davidson set the emotional tone for Duke. He manhandled Wake Forest guard Chris Paul on the opening possession, bumping him wildly before a foul was called.

He left the game after two minutes to a rousing ovation and got a warm embrace from Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who left no doubts about how important this game was.

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” Davidson said.

J.J. Redick was pretty memorable himself.

The junior guard scored a career-high 38 points after Coach K shook up the starting lineup, and reserve Lee Melchionni added 15 to lead the seventh-ranked Blue Devils past No. 5 Wake Forest, 102-92, Sunday night.

Duke (19-4, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coming off consecutive losses for only the fourth time in the past eight seasons, had its way with the Demon Deacons in the second half. After trailing by two at the break, the Blue Devils shot 61 percent in the final 20 minutes to reach their highest point total of the season.

“It was as good as our offense has looked all year, and it wasn’t one guy or just me,” Redick said. “It was everybody.”

Chris Paul had 27 points, and Trent Strickland scored 17 for Wake Forest (22-4, 10-3), which fell out of a first-place tie with North Carolina.

Duke center Shelden Williams more than held his own in the matchup with Eric Williams, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. And Melchionni, a junior who played very little during his first two seasons, came up with big play after big play when the Blue Devils needed it most.

Duke's DeMarcus Nelson, left, and J.J. Redick embrace toward the end of the game against Wake Forest. Duke defeated Wake Forest, 102-92, Sunday in Durham, N.C.

He came in averaging only 6.8 points a game, but beat that total during a 90-second span of the second half. The left-hander swished a three-pointer for a five-point lead, jumped in the passing lane for a steal that led to his own dunk, then spun in the paint for a short jumper.

No. 10 Arizona 91, Oregon State 70

Tucson, Ariz. — Salim Stoudamire sank a school record nine three-pointers and scored 31 points in his final home game, and Arizona won its sixth in a row by routing Oregon State. Channing Frye added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats stayed alone in first place in the Pac-10. Hassan Adams had 13 points and tied his season-high with 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (23-4, 13-2 Pac-10).

No. 12 Louisville 84, Saint Louis 66

Louisville, Ky. — Taquan Dean made five three-pointers, and Louisville put together its best offensive performance in weeks. Larry O’Bannon scored 17, Francisco Garcia added 13, and Ellis Myles finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds for the Cardinals (23-4, 11-2 Conference USA), who finished with their highest point total since a 105-69 victory over Tulane on Jan. 29.

No. 25 Villanova 80,

No. 17 Pittsburgh 72

Villanova, Pa. — Allan Ray hit five three-pointers and scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half to lift Villanova. Curtis Sumpter scored 18 points, Randy Foye added 15, and Villanova went 12-for-23 from three-point range, helping the Wildcats (17-6, 7-5 Big East) win for the eighth time in 10 games and bolstering their chances of making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999. Pittsburgh dropped to 18-5 and 8-4 in Big East play.

Late Saturday Game

No. 19 Pacific 73, UTEP 66

Stockton, Calif. — David Doubley scored 21 points and hit a key three-pointer with 1:18 left to lead Pacific to victory over UTEP on Saturday — Pacific’s 18th straight victory. Guillaume Yango added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers (22-2), who maintained a narrow lead throughout the second half.