Cherokee Parks scored a career-high 27 points Saturday night to lead the men's basketball team to its second victory of the season, a 93-70 win over the Northeastern Huskies.
The game was the second in two days for the Blue Devils, who defeated Brown in an 80-38 blowout Friday afternoon.
"I thought [Saturday's] game was real important because it was after a game that we won easily and played well in, and before a game that's going to be very difficult, and so the tendency might be to not play hard in this game," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I think [the players] are paying attention, and they're playing hard."
The eighth-ranked Blue Devils take on No 14 Connecticut Tuesday in the Great Eight tournament at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.
After facing Connecticut, the Blue Devils will play games against Illinois, George Washington and Michigan, all in a span of 12 days.
"I think we're going to learn a lot," Krzyzewski said. "By the time the Michigan game is over, I think we'll know our team really well. I'm looking forward to these next four games."
The news in Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday night was all about beating Northeastern, and Parks' 27-points and 75 percent field goal shooting gave Duke reason to be optimistic about the season.
"Today, Cherokee showed a little cockiness in his outside shooting, which he hasn't really shown as much in games -- he's shown it in practice," Krzyzewski said. "And that's what [former Duke star Christian] Laettner had. He had supreme confidence and cockiness with the shot. When Laettner was a senior, if he didn't have that, we're not going to be 34-2 and No. 1 the whole season and win the national championship.
"Cockiness is good, as long as it's used properly, and Laettner used it extremely well."
Parks, 1-of-3 from three-point range against Northeastern, nailed a trifecta with 6:30 to play in the first half. He also hit two shots from just inside the three-point line.
While Parks was ringing up record numbers on offense, freshmen Steve Wojciechowski and Ricky Price were earning praise for aggressive play at the other end of the court.
"We wanted to pressure the ball, and I think that's where Wojciechowski had an unbelievable impact on the game," Krzyzewski said. "When he came in, he was fresher than [Northeastern guard Damon] Singletary. Our alternating people out there helped.
"The thing I like most about Ricky today is how hard he played defensively. He took [Lonnie] Harrell out of the game in the second half. Harrell is a good player."
According to sophomore guard Jeff Capel, strong perimeter players and a deeper bench should make a difference on this year's team.
"A lot of times last year, we would have four guys out there playing defense, and we would have Grant [Hill] in the back to erase everyone's mistakes, so to speak," he said. "This year, we're out there, we're more aggressive, and we're trying to attack people more. For this basketball team, that's what we're going to have to do."
With five guards and swingman Price, Duke will move further out to pressure the ball on defense.
"With this team, it would be a crime to not extend at least to half court," Krzyzewski said.
The Blue Devils held Harrell, who racked up 22 points for the game, to just two points in the last 11:24 of play.
Price said he's excited about the chance to play aggressive defense.
"The first week of practice, I had no clue," Price said. "I came from a high school where we didn't play defense. Now, I want to get out there and play `D' and stop somebody."
In addition to stopping Harrell in the second half, Price lit up the court in the first half with a baseline dunk off a pass from Wojciechowski to ignite a 13-0 Blue Devil run.
After slamming home the shot with 1:28 to play, Price's excitement spilled over into an exchange with Northeastern's Harrell.
"After making a big play like that, I was so excited I wanted to tell him about it," Price said.
After Price's shot, senior Erik Meek racked up two free throws, and Wojciechowski hit one more from the foul line to increase the Duke lead to 47-34 at the half.
Price opened the second half with a pass to Parks inside for two, and the Blue Devils scored on the next two possessions. Capel passed to senior Kenny Blakeney for a pair of arching trifectas from the left side of the basket, giving Duke a comfortable 21-point lead with 18:35 to play.
"Those first 10 minutes of the second half, Kenny hit those two shots, we locked them up defensively, and it was over," Price said.
The Blue Devils held Northeastern to 26 points in the second half, which degenerated into a free-throw shooting contest for the final 10 minutes. The two teams hit a combined 20 of 33 free throws in the last 10:31 -- compared to just nine shots from the field.
"The last 10 minutes were disjointed because of all the fouls, and there wasn't any flow to the game," Krzyzewski said.
Overall, Krzyzewski said he was pleased with the game, and he praised Northeastern for an aggressive effort.
"We beat a good team today, an older team," Krzyzewski said. "[Huskies head coach Dave Leitao] has done a nice job of getting his team to play really hard. They were unselfish. They were a difficult team for us to defend."
Working on containing Harrell and struggling to control veteran forward Dan Callahan, who logged 13 rebounds, will help the Blue Devils in the coming weeks, Krzyzewski said.
In Friday's season opener, the Blue Devils led only 36-24 at the half, but the second half was a disaster for the Bears. Duke outscored Brown 44-14 after the break.
The Bears returned all five starters from last year's team, which only lost to Duke 89-71 last January. But Friday's game was a different story.
Meek's 15 points led the way for Duke, which had five players score in double figures. In contrast, Brown's Eric Blackiston scored 17 points, nearly half of his team's total.
Duke was encouraged by the early-season games, and the Blue Devils are looking forward to the challenge ahead.
"These next four games are games that you can play real well in and lose, or you can play very well and win," Krzyzewski said.
Price says he's ready to do whatever it takes.
"If my role is passing out Gatorade, then that's what I'll do for Duke," Price said.
NOTES: Duke's victory over Northeastern marks the Blue Devils' 90th-straight win against a non-ACC opponent in Cameron Indoor Stadium. . . Duke's 42-point victory over the Brown Bears Friday was the team's biggest margin of victory since its 117-73 defeat of San Francisco during the 1992-1993 season. . . Duke has not held a team to 38 points since the 1988-89 season, when the Blue Devils beat William & Mary 100-38
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