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DURHAM — This is the story of two guards and the biggest nights of their careers so far.

A senior who could do no wrong and put up the best numbers of an illustrious career. And a fresh-faced 18-year-old freshman seeking refuge in the game he loves.

Their stories played out in the same hot gym Tuesday night, when they helped No. 7 Duke (8-1) clobber overmatched, undersized Gardner-Webb 113-68 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Jon Scheyer, the senior, scored a career-high 36 points on a near-perfect night. He shot 11-for-13 from the field, 7-for-9 from 3-point range and 7-for-7 from the foul line. He dished out nine assists and grabbed eight rebounds.

Scheyer was everywhere.

"He was unbelievable," Gardner-Webb coach Rick Scruggs said. "Anybody who says there's any weakness there is out of their mind. ... I mean, I thought we did a good job (defending) him, and then I see the stat sheet and it's just amazing what he's done."

Andre Dawkins, the freshman, didn't put up particularly gaudy numbers. The kid from Fairfax, Va., shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

But he did it three days after burying his 21-year-old sister, Lacey, who was killed in a car accident in West Virginia 10 days ago as she rode toward Durham to watch her kid brother play against St. John's.

"She was just a fun-loving, happy person," Dawkins said. "Whenever she came into a room, she would put a smile on everyone's face no matter how bad she might've felt. That'll be definitely missed in our family."

Lacey Dawkins' funeral was Saturday in Charleston, W.Va. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, assistant coach Nate James and athletics director Kevin White went to the service.

"First of all, Andre has a beautiful family," Krzyzewski said, "and we're a part of that family. I think over the last eight or nine days, we've kind of all worked as a team to try to deal with the tragedy. ... It was a beautiful service and celebrated Lacey's life, and we got to be with the family there. We brought Andre back with us, and then his teammates have been there for him."

The fans were there, too. Dawkins got a rousing ovation when he came into the game 3:53 into the first half.

"I heard them," Dawkins said. "That meant a lot. It meant that they were thinking about me, and I appreciate it. While I was gone, I got numerous calls from people just expressing their condolences. People wrote me letters and sent them (to Duke). I really appreciate all the support from all the fans, alumni, just everybody. Even (North Carolina) coach Roy Williams. He sent some flowers, and I just appreciate all that moral support."

Dawkins said he "was just going through the motions" in the first half.

It didn't matter. Scheyer was putting on a show. He missed just one shot and scored 24 points, pushing Duke to a 49-31 lead at the break.

Dawkins finally hit a shot with 3:21 left in the half, a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 44-24 and sparked chants of "An-Dre-Daw-Kins!" from the crowd.

"It's been tough losing somebody that close," Dawkins said. "But the best thing for me to do is stay busy. ... It's better to be out here playing with these guys as opposed to just sitting around not doing anything. I think in a time like this, it's important just to stay busy. And what better to do than play basketball?"

Dawkins scored 13 points in the second half when the tempo got faster and the score got out of hand.

Big men Miles Plumlee and Brian Zoubek scored 13 points apiece. Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith both had 11. Singler, the ACC preseason player of the year, played 27 minutes despite an ankle injury and scored all his points in the second half.

Auryn Macmillan scored 14 points to lead Gardner-Webb, which cut Duke's lead to 17-16 when C.J. Hailey hit back-to-back jumpers —- a 3-pointer from one corner and a shot from inches inside the arc from the other corner — with 13:22 left in the first half.

Duke responded with a 16-2 scoring run to pull away. Six Blue Devils scored during the spurt, and Gardner-Webb's (3-5) only points came on a goaltending call against Miles Plumlee after he swatted away Jonathan Moore's short jumper.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

GARDNER-WEBB (3-5) — Henley 3-7 0-2 6, MacMillan 7-12 0-0 14, Flittner 4-10 0-0 10, Hailey 4-10 2-2 11, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Burrell 0-1 0-0 0, Silver 1-3 0-0 3, Maden 0-1 0-0 0, Staton 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 2-4 0-0 4, McNair 0-1 0-0 0, Manley 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 3-6 4-4 10, Engelken 3-7 0-0 8. Totals 28-68 6-8 68.

DUKE (8-1) — Singler 4-8 2-4 11, Mi.Plumlee 6-8 1-2 13, Thomas 2-5 1-2 5, Smith 5-11 1-2 11, Scheyer 11-13 7-7 36, Ma.Plumlee 3-3 0-2 6, Czyz 0-0 0-0 0, Dawkins 6-9 1-2 16, Kelly 1-3 0-0 2, Davidson 0-0 0-0 0, Peters 0-0 0-0 0, Zoubek 5-6 3-5 13. Totals 43-66 16-26 113.

Halftime—Duke 49-31.
3-point goals—Gardner-Webb 6-20 (Engelken 2-5, Flittner 2-6, Hailey 1-3, Silver 1-3, McNair 0-1, Brown 0-2), Duke 11-19 (Scheyer 7-9, Dawkins 3-5, Singler 1-3, Kelly 0-1, Smith 0-1).
Fouled out—MacMillan.
Rebounds—Gardner-Webb 35 (MacMillan 4), Duke 34 (Scheyer, Zoubek 8).
Assists—Gardner-Webb 18 (Flittner 4), Duke 27 (Scheyer 9).
Total fouls—Gardner-Webb 21, Duke 14.
A—9,314.