Blue Devils mine victory against 49ers

Brian Zoubek notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The senior also had three blocks.
Brian Zoubek notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The senior also had three blocks.

As the holidays draw to a close, No. 7 Duke (10-1) continued a Christmas tradition of its own. For the 15th straight year, The Blue Devils won their post-holiday break game 84-63 against persistent Long Beach State (6-7).

Five Blue Devils finished the game in double figures, led by junior Nolan Smith and senior Jon Scheyer, who combined for 41 of Duke’s 84 points.

“Jon’s a terrific basketball player, and he has been for his entire time here,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He understands the value of the ball…. He knows what he’s good at and he becomes excellent in those things.”

Senior Brian Zoubek also made his presence felt on both ends of the court, working his way to a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Although Duke led by as many as 26 points in the first half, Long Beach State refused to back down. The 49ers had already played three top-10 teams this season, including No. 6 West Virginia, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 2 Texas.

Led by sophomore guard Larry Anderson’s 12 second-half points, the 49ers stayed in the game and cut the lead to as few as 13 points. Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson said it was his bench that helped the 49ers find their footing against the Blue Devils’ stifling defense and barrage of threes.  Unfortunately for Long Beach State, Monson’s bench was not deep enough to overcomeDuke’ defense.

“We had to start with defense. The offense will come, but the defense sets the tone,” Smith said.

Despite a slow start that held the Blue Devils to 10 points in the first five minutes of play and only shooting 39 percent from the line, Duke quickly found its rhythm—and its 3-ball—sinking nine from behind the arc and shooting 60 percent from the field in the first half. Overall, Duke went 15-of-26 from beyond the arc, for 57.7 percent.

Although Duke’s defense often forced the 49ers to take quick shots, Scheyer and Smith helped maximized the Devils’ offensive effectiveness. The two combined for 14 assists and no turnovers.

“We had good shots,” Krzyzewski said. “They weren’t quick shots. For the most parts, they were really good shots. If we get good shots, we should get a good percentage against them.”

Duke’s big men, Zoubek particularly, led the team’s defensive performance and allowed the offense to create 22 second-chance points and 16 points off turnovers.

Duke used its powerful defense and hot offense to fuel a 27-7 run in the first half. And although Long Beach State adjusted its defense after intermission, Zoubek’s seven rebounds and eight points in the last 20 minutes made up for slow second-half offensive showings by Singler and freshman Andre Dawkins.

Krzyzewski said Zoubek’s performance has consistently been strong this season.  The senior also contributed three of Duke’s 10 blocks against the 49ers.

“I know my role, and I’ve been playing it well,” Zoubek said. “I definitely feel like I’m trying to establish myself. I’ve definitely had some struggles earlier in my career, but I feel like if I can just play consistently hard, the way I’ve been going, hopefully people will notice.”

With their 10th win secured, the Blue Devils are looking forward to Thursday’s game against Pennsylvania with their minds on what still needs work before ACC play starts Sunday against Clemson.

On which areas he would specifically like to see Duke improve, Singler said, “Everything.”

“We haven’t reached our full potential,” he said. “We still have a lot of improving to do, which is a good thing, but at the same time, I’d really like to see the finished product. It’s just how the season goes. We’ve just got to keep on working hard.”
 

Discussion

Share and discuss “Blue Devils mine victory against 49ers” on social media.