New York ? Their names go together like so many college basketball duos. It’s rare to hear J.J. Redick of Duke without Shelden Williams following right behind.

For the second half of the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday night, Williams was a solo star, and it meant a title for the top-ranked Blue Devils and an MVP trophy for the senior center.

Williams matched his career high with 30 points, including the game-winning tip-in with 32 seconds left, to give Duke a 70-67 victory over No. 11 Memphis.

At halftime, when Duke held a 42-41 lead, Redick had 15 points, one more than Williams. Redick, a returning All-American, didn’t score in the second half. Williams did.

“We’re a team, me and him,” Williams said of the senior guard. “We take the weight and onus on our backs every game. If he’s not doing something I’ll take it up for him, and I know he’ll be there whenever I need him.”

The Blue Devils (5-0) didn’t wrap up their third title in the tournament at Madison Square Garden right after Williams’ eighth rebound of the game when he tipped in a missed drive by Sean Dockery.

Duke’s Lee Melchionni was fouled after grabbing the rebound of a miss by Memphis’ Darius Washington Jr., but he missed two free throws with 11 seconds left. Dockery got the rebound of the second miss, but he didn’t make the first of his two free throws. He made the second for a 70-67 lead, and then Memphis freshman Shawne Williams hit the rim with a three-point attempt at the buzzer, and Duke had the title to go with the ones in 1985 and 2000.

Duke's Shelden Williams dunks over Memphis' Kareem Cooper, right, and Darius Washington Jr., left. Williams scored 30 points to lead the top-ranked Blue Devils to a 70-67 victory Friday night in New York.

“I want this team to win so bad I’ll do anything for this team,” the 6-foot-2 guard said of getting the rebound.

Those offensive rebounds were the kind of plays Memphis coach John Calipari said were the difference.

“The two plays that cost us the game, they weren’t anything with skill or anything else,” Calipari said. “They missed a layup and they offensive rebounded, simply effort. They missed two free throws and they offensive rebound. That was the ballgame.”

No. 7 Kentucky 81, Liberty 51

Lexington, Ky. – Sophomore forward Bobby Perry, making his second career start, scored a career-high 22 points to lead Kentucky. Rajon Rondo added 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (4-1), who remained undefeated in six games all-time against Big South Conference opponents.

No. 10 Boston College 87, Drake 84

Las Vegas – Jared Dudley scored a game-high 23 points, including 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, to lead Boston College in the third round of the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. The Eagles, behind most of the game, rallied with a 10-0 run after trailing 72-68 with 3:51 left.

No. 14 Florida 74, Florida State 66

Gainesville, Fla. – Taurean Green scored 15 points, all from the free-throw line, and Florida overcame a 17-point deficit. Al Horford added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Gators, and Corey Brewer finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Florida State’s top two players, Al Thornton and Alexander Johnson, were in foul trouble much of the game. The Gators (5-0) took advantage with them on the bench.

No. 15 Illinois 55, Wichita State 54

South Padre Island, Texas – Warren Carter’s layup as time expired gave Illinois a victory over Wichita State in the semifinals of the South Padre Island Invitational. Carter, who was open near the basket, scored the last of his eight points after receiving an inbounds pass from Rich McBride with two seconds remaining. It was Illinois’ second lead of the second half, after James Augustine’s jumper with 4:41 left briefly put Illinois ahead 51-50.

No. 16 UCLA 57, Drexel 56

New York – Jordan Farmar made the second of two free throws with 0.8 seconds to play to give UCLA a victory in the third-place game of the NIT Season Tip-Off. UCLA (4-1) had tied the game at 56 with 6.8 seconds left on two of three free throws by Arron Afflalo. Drexel (3-2) then turned the ball over when Bashir Mason couldn’t handle a hard inbounds pass.

No. 17 Syracuse 96, Siena 77

Syracuse, N.Y. – Gerry McNamara broke out of his shooting slump, hitting six three-pointers and scoring a season-high 22 points, and Syracuse beat Siena to snap a two-game losing streak. It was the seventh victory in the series without a defeat for Syracuse (4-2), which was coming off losses to No. 14 Florida and Bucknell. Siena (0-2), which opened its season with an 82-77 road loss to Penn, never had a chance after leading briefly at the outset.

No. 24 Wake Forest 91, Appalachian State 78

Winston-Salem, N.C. – Trent Strickland scored a career-high 25 points to lead Wake Forest past Appy State. Justin Gray added 19 points for the Demon Deacons (5-1), who extended the nation’s fifth-longest home winning streak with their 20th straight victory. Wake Forest has also won 50 of its last 51 home games against nonconference opponents. D.J. Thompson scored 20 points to lead the Mountaineers (2-1).

No. 25 Washington 112, Loyola Marymount 65

Seattle – Brandon Roy scored 19 points, and Ryan Appleby added 18, all on three-point shooting, leading Washington over Loyola Marymount. Washington (6-0) took advantage of 22 turnovers by the Lions and scored 65 first-half points on the way to its 28th straight home victory at Bank of America Arena. Wes Wardrop scored 13 points to lead Loyola Marymount.