Captain Cook leads Duke basketball past Stanford for CVC title

NEW YORK—Stanford threw the kitchen sink at Jahlil Okafor in hopes of slowing down college basketball's most dominant big man. And although the Cardinal succeeded, it was the Duke supporting cast that had the last laugh.

In a matchup that pitted Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski against Stanford's Johnny Dawkins—his former protege—the No. 4 Blue Devils prevailed 70-59 to take the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic title at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. On a night where Okafor was held to a career-low scoring output, senior guard Quinn Cook led the way for Duke with 18 points on 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

After leading the Blue Devils with 17 points in their 74-54 semifinal victory against Temple, Cook earned tournament MVP honors.

"Probably didn't get him enough shots," Krzyzewski said of his senior captain. "Quinn is playing great. He's playing great. He's so deserving of the MVP."

Okafor and freshman forward Justise Winslow earned all-tournament team honors as well.

Stanford (3-1) pestered Okafor with a consistent double-team in the post from the game's opening tip. The freshman from Chicago managed just 10 points on 4-of-10 from the field and added 12 rebounds for the first double-double of his collegiate career. Okafor was nearly nonexistent on the stat sheet in the first half, tallying just two points on 1-of-5 from the floor.

"I don't expect to see single-man coverage too much," Okafor said. "Today I was just really looking for my teammates, they did a great job just knocking down shots....It's a lot of fun when they keep bringing the ball in the post and I'm just throwing it out."

With Okafor receiving constant attention, Duke's shooters had a lot of space on the perimeter. Even with ample room, the Blue Devils (5-0) connected on just 6-of-17 attempts from 3-point range in the first half, taking a 40-29 advantage into the locker room. Duke hit 9-of-25 triples on the evening.

"We did a great job at hitting the shots we needed to," junior forward Amile Jefferson said. "The 3-point shot is going to be there, and it's going to get better because [Okafor] demands so much attention. It's just about guys continuing to have big hearts and quick triggers."

Cook padded Duke's lead shortly after halftime when he hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions—the last of which was a triple—to push his team's advantage to 50-35.

Senior guard Chasson Randle, who tallied a game-high 22 points, kept Stanford in the contest. His personal 4-0 run midway through the second half trimmed the Blue Devil lead back to single digits with 9:38 to play.

Following the ensuing media timeout, Krzyzewski's squad went right to Okafor, who took it strong to the basket and banked it in with his left hand to give Duke a much-needed boost. He added a thunderous dunk on the next possession to send the Blue Devil-friendly crowd into a frenzy.

Duke never led by fewer than 10 from that point onward.

"We wanted to go to him quick and for him to make his move really fast," Jefferson said. "Those two plays were huge for us because it gave us the momentum and helped us to see that if we make a few more plays, they might break."

Sporting a starting lineup that features three freshman, Duke's season-opening stretch of five games in nine days was no easy task. The Blue Devils will get a much-needed rest before they welcome Furman to Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night.