The men's basketball team got a good taste of Australian rules basketball Saturday night as it defeated the Melbourne Tigers 80-69. The win capped off the two-game exhibition season, leaving the Blue Devils undefeated but in need of improvement.
Andrew Gaze, a 6 foot-7 do-it-all guard for the Tigers, demonstrated that he is a world-class player by pouring in a game-high 39 points with what looked like effortless ease. Without Gaze's one-man show, Melbourne would have struggled just to make the final outcome look respectable.
"He's very difficult because he knows how to play," Duke guard Jeff Capel said. "He is really crafty. He moves really well without the ball. He doesn't need much room to get his shot off."
With Gaze leading the way for Melbourne, it only took a few minutes of game time for Duke to realize that the Tigers had brought a lot of game from the land down under. Behind a well-executed offense and the play of Gaze, the Tigers were able to stay with the Blue Devils for 11 minutes of the opening half.
Following two consecutive three-point jumpers by the Tigers' Ray Gordon, Duke went on a 19-9 run to close out the half, turning a one point Melbourne lead into a commanding 45-36 lead for the Blue Devils. During the run, Capel scored six of his nine first half points on two jumpers and two free throws.
The Blue Devils had the most success in the first half pounding the ball inside to senior Greg Newton, who finished the game with 20 points, and starting center Taymon Domzalski. Melbourne's front line was severely overmatched, as it had only 6 foot-9 David Simmons and 6 foot-8 Blair Smith to counter Duke's 6 foot-10 center duo.
Even with the height disadvantage, the Tigers were still able to claim a 16-10 halftime victory on the boards and stay in the game behind their execution and ability to handle the Duke defense.
"This was a good game for us to play because they were so poised against our pressure," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I'm not sure a lot of teams would be that poised. They're thinking all the time. They did that better than us. They probably do that better than any college team. They were thinking as a group."
The Blue Devils built their biggest lead of 16 points only eight minutes into the second half when Newton sent home a thunderous dunk off a lob from junior point guard Steve Wojciechowski. Wojciechowski finished the night with seven assists and zero turnovers.
The Blue Devils were never tested the rest of the way, but they were also unable to decisively drive the final nail into the coffin.
"At times we looked very, very good," Krzyzewski said. "It's tough to sustain that. We gave up some garbage points that took the momentum away from our team."
The difference in the game was Duke's inside presence. The Blue Devils attacked the boards better in the second half and got several key put-backs. Duke finished with a four rebound advantage as Newton was only one board away from a double-double. Junior Roshown McLeod and Domzalski added eight and four rebounds, respectively.
"Our big men are doing just about everything they want to so we just have to keep pounding it down," Capel said. "Greg and Taymon were both playing with a lot of confidence. Both of them were really running the court well."
One of Duke's most glaring weaknesses now may develop into it's biggest asset as the season progresses. Against Melbourne, Duke abandoned its five-for-five mass substitution pattern and went to a more conventional one and two player rotation scheme. The Blue Devils are loaded with interchangeable players at all positions, with the exception at point guard where Wojciechowski and sophomore Trajan Langdon are the only players being used routinely. Right now the problem is finding a few players who are going to make themselves into leaders on the team.
"I think that a lot of people think that playing time is just going to come to them so they're not asserting themselves," senior forward Carmen Wallace said. "I think we have to have more emphasis on guys stepping up who are going to be leaders on the court. Until we have that we are not going to be as good a team as we possibly can be."
The Blue Devils hope to work out some of these kinks before the preseason National Invitation Tournament begins in a week and a half. The top priority for Duke will be to gain a better understanding of the other players on the team and to develop a solid cohesiveness and rotation with which to build on.
"We learned that we have to get a lot better to have a chance to win the preseason NIT," Krzyzewski said. "We are improving and I think the kids are working hard, so that's the main thing right now. We're a ways from being a team right now. We just have to get smarter and know game situations. We have to concentrate on one team's game, our game."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.