He may not do much else -- try as he might -- but Martynas Pocius certainly can score.

Duke does not make much use of its bench and perhaps with good reason. Still, there are times when the ironmen on the floor run out of gas or the team needs a spark.

So it was with the Blue Devils locked in a close contest with N.C. State in their first round ACC Tournament game. The Wolfpack led 23-21 in the first half, fueled by the scoring of forward Brandon Costner, who finished with 16 of the Wolfpack’s 29 points in the period. It was at that juncture that Pocius, recently in the game, made his presence felt.

First he committed a turnover, another specialty, one of three he contributed as Duke had 11 in the half. Then, after a flurry of misses by both teams, Pocius hit a 3-pointer to put Duke ahead 24-23 with 5:36 remaining in the period. The Blue Devils did not trail again in the half as Pocius contributed eight points in 10 minutes. Only Jon Scheyer had more points for Duke, with 11.

Pocius, a sophomore from Lithuania, has played more minutes in only three entire games this season than he did in the first half against N.C. State, which ended with Duke ahead, 34-29. His point production was more than he yielded in Duke’s nine previous games combined, and one short of Pocius’ season best, 9 points against Columbia in the team’s opener.