Duke 82, Lamar 55

Saturday, March 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Freshman Jason Williams scored 18 points, dished out seven assists and did not commit a turnover, leading top-seeded Duke to an 82-55 victory over 16th seed Lamar in a East Region first-round game.

Carlos Boozer added 16 points, and Shane Battier and Nate James scored 12 apiece for Duke (28-4), which will play Kansas in the second round on Sunday.

Kenyon Spears led Lamar (15-16) with 19 points, Thaydeus Holden had 13 and Landon Rowe added 10.

Lamar was still within 34-31 with four minutes left before halftime, but Boozer hit a pair of free throws and Nate James driller a 3-pointer and the Blue Devils closed out the half with a 10-2 run.

In the second half Duke held the Cardinals to 27 percent (8-of-29), shooting from the field while the Blue Devils shot 48 percent (12-of-25). The Blue Devils also held a 42-28 advantage on the glass.

The deep and talented Blue Devils were the first team in 26 years to win consecutive ACC regular season and tournament titles. For the second straight year, they entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 1 in the country, a feat last accomplished by DePaul in 1980 and 1981.

The Blue Devils (28-4) barely seemed to miss a beat despite losing Trajan Langdon, Elton Brand, William Avery and Corey Maggette to the NBA. After dropping games to Stanford and Connecticut in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, they regrouped to win 18 straight contests.

Duke did not taste defeat until Maryland ended its ACC-record 31-game home winning streak, 98-87, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 9. The only other loss was an 83-82 setback to St. John's on February 26.