FINAL, Duke 104-67: That's a wrap for today. Duke moves to 4-0 and next plays in Madison Square Garden in the semifinals of the NIT Preseason Tip-Off against Arizona State. Radford drops to 2-1. Parakhouski led all scorers and Dawkins and Smith were the high men for the Blue Devils.
Duke 100-60, 3:06 remaining: The Blue Devils hit triple digits for the second time this season on a Lance Thomas jumper (they've scored 98 once as well).
Duke 98-60, 4:37 remaining: I don't know what the Blue Devil record is for 3-pointers in a game, specifically by a freshman, but Dawkins has to be getting close with his sixth trey of the day. He finally took it inside the arc and drained his first 2-point jumper of the day, giving him 20 points to lead Duke.
Duke 86-54, 7:32 remaining: He may not be scoring, but Singler is making some beautiful assists, most recently finding a streaking Scheyer for a lay-up. The Blue Devils have had a 30-point lead for about five minutes, but three starters are still in the game for Duke. We'll see how long it takes Mike Krzyzewski to empty the bench.
Duke 80-48, 11:04 remaining: Dawkins misses for the first time on his sixth 3-point attempt. Here's your shout-out, Ryan.
Duke 80-46, 11:33 remaining: Dawkins can't miss. He is 5-for-5, all 3-pointers, for an efficient 15 points. My co-writer Ryan Claxton has guaranteed that he'll miss the next three he takes, but Dawkins' stroke looks pretty smooth right now.
Meanwhile, Plumlee has been struggling covering Parakhouski, but Singler is doing a good job of keeping Plumlee involved on offense, feeding him with some nice passes from the high post.
Duke 70-43, 14:04 remaining: The great thing about Singler is that even when he's struggling, he never stays down for too long. He opened the scoring this half with a 3-pointer and just kick-started a 6-0 run with a beautiful alley-oop to Plumlee that has to be the current highlight of the game. He followed that up with a great block on the other end and Scheyer-not to be outdone-went the distance and fed Kelly with an "Oh, baby!"-worthy alley-oop. On the next play, Smith drove inside and finished with a pretty lay-up, getting the crowd louder than it has been all day, and prompting Radford to call a timeout.
Duke 64-41, 15:42 remaining: Singler has 11 points, but today hasn't been one of his finer performances. The junior is struggling to drive the ball inside and is settling for a lot of jump shots. As a result, he's only shooting 4-of-12. Lance Thomas also hasn't been very effective, recording just two points and two rebounds. But that's given Zoubek and Kelly ample playing time, and the two reserves are making the most of that opportunity.
Duke 59-34, START OF SECOND HALF: Starters for both teams in to start the half.
HAFLTIME, Duke 59-34: Another injury scare. Smith falls hard on the Blue Devils' last offensive possession and is limping. Olek Czyz entered the game for the final few seconds as the junior hobbled off the court.
Notable first-half stats:
Duke:
13 3-pt FG and 7 2-pt FG
13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from beyond the arc
22-of-40 (55 percent) attempted FG were 3-pointers
Dawkins: 4-of-4 from 3-pointers
Three scorers in double digits (Dawkins, Smith and Scheyer) to just one for the Highlanders (Parakhouski)
Duke 56-32, 1:10 remaining: Dawkins has found his range for the Blue Devils, connecting for three 3-pointers. But he is still being left wide open behind the arc, prompting the Cameron Crazies to yell, "Hey, you forgot about Dre!" The freshman is loving it, doing a little arm raising to keep the crowd cheering.
Meanwhile, Curry is back in the game for Radford, so he looks to be okay.
Duke 45-27, 3:30 remaining: That was a scary moment for Radford, as Jamal Curry fell hard on his right arm. He got up relatively quickly, but he's in a lot of pain on the bench.
Duke 45-27, 3:53 remaining: Rough stretch for Duke heading into the final media timeout. Radford's Parakhouski is having a nice game inside. The Blue Devils seem powerless to stop his low-post game without committing multiple defenders, leaving some outside shooters open. He has 10 points and four rebounds as the Highlanders try to get themselves back within striking distance before the break.
Duke 43-22, 5:48 remaining: Solid game from Zoubek so far. He's been active on the boards, dove for a loose ball, and even seems to have refined his free throw stroke from the last game. The Highlanders are exploiting his lack of speed on the defensive end, but Kelly is helping to pick up the slack.
Duke 36-19, 7:36 remaining: Another pair of threes from Scheyer and Singler, and Scheyer draws a charge to head into the media timeout. I wish I had a stat, but at least 60 percent of Duke's shots have to have come from beyond the arc at this point. It's all fun and games when the shots are going in, but as we saw at the beginning of the contest, the minute the Blue Devils start to struggle from long range, Radford could be poised for a run.
Duke 26-15, 8:40 remaining: And the three party continues for the Blue Devils, who seemingly refuse to take shots inside the arc against the zone. Plumlee finally banged inside for a lay-up, much to the chagrin of Dawkins-who was frantically waving his hands to signal he was open for a corner three.
Plumlee's at the line for two as Singler takes his first rest of the game. Singler has a trainer right beside him on the bench, so it's not entirely clear whether he's just resting or he got hurt.
Duke 20-13, 11:20 remaining: The Blue Devils are getting an offensive lift from Ryan Kelly and Brian Zoubek. Kelly scored on his first possession, and Zoubek is doing good work on the glass. Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler are still taking a lot of long shots, and they've finally converted on two 3-pointers as Duke is in the midst of a 10-0 run.
Radford 13-10, 14:42 remaining: Nice start offensively for the Highlanders. Radford converted on six of its first seven possessions to build a slim lead heading into the first media timeout. The Blue Devils have tightened up defensively, but can't find a rhythm yet on the other end. Despite two early buckets from Miles Plumlee, Duke is getting trigger-happy from well beyond the three-point line, and the only player to find success from there thus far is Nolan Smith.
PREGAME: We're here live at Cameron Indoor Stadium where the No. 9 Blue Devils are set to take on the Radford Highlanders. It's looking to be a sad start to the day for Duke fans, as the football team is currently down 27-16 in the fourth quarter to Miami. It should be much easier for Blue Devil basketball team, which looks to extend its 71-game win streak at home against nonconference opponents.
Starting lineups:
Duke:
F Miles Plumlee
F Kyle Singler
F Lance Thomas
G Jon Scheyer
G Nolan Smith
Radford:
G Amir Johnson
G Blake Smith
F Phillip Martin
F Joey Lynch-Flohr
C Artsiom Parakhouski
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