Another exhibition game, another blowout win for the Blue Devils.
Four players scored in double-figures as No. 4 Duke defeated Central Missouri 87-47 Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium in its final tuneup contest before regular season action begins next week. Freshman Justise Winslow's 17 points led the Blue Devils in scoring for the second straight contest.
In the opening minutes, it appeared as though the reigning Division II champions were prepared to give Duke a fight.
Senior Rakeem Dickerson led the Mules out of the gate, knocking down three pull-up jumpers to help pace his team to an early 9-5 lead. On the other end, the Blue Devils—who scored 119 points in their first exhibition game against Livingstone Tuesday night—missed a couple of point-blank opportunities, misfiring on seven of their first nine shots.
"[It was] completely different offensively than the first game in that we hit everything in the first game and then for a while today we hit nothing," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And then our offense wasn't run as well, because we'd been accustomed to, in that one game, getting something easy. It was very good for us [to struggle], because shooting's the most inconsistent part of the game."
Trailing 13-7 with 13:24 left in the first half, the Blue Devils turned on the jets. Winslow keyed a 17-0 run that spanned nearly eight minutes and put Duke in control of the game.
In a one-minute stretch, the swingman drove through the lane for a nifty finish. On Duke's next possession, freshman center Jahlil Okafor found his classmate cutting through the lane for another lay-up. With the Blue Devils applying full-court pressure—something they kept up for most of the afternoon—Winslow drew a charge at halfcourt, putting the momentum squarely in Duke's corner.
"That was a big momentum swing. While we're out there we just try to stay focused and stay disciplined [and] make the simple plays," Winslow said. "When [Okafor] got the ball, I know he's going to command a double team, so I just made the easy play. It was a lot of fun, that minute-stretch."
Winslow was joined in double-digits by Okafor—who had 15 points and nine rebounds—and guards Quinn Cook and Grayson Allen, who chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. Krzyzewski cited the balanced, unselfish Blue Devil attack as a key to the season, noting that the Blue Devils are averaging 103.0 points per game but have yet to see a single player eclipse the 20-point threshold.
That unselfishness and a renewed commitment on the defensive end after the slow start were on full display during the pivotal 17-0 run.
"First of all, you don't have runs like that often, and when you do it's because usually you hit a three, get a turnover and hit another three," Krzyzewski said. "[This one] was over a long period of time. So I like that about our team, that even though we were not knocking them down, it didn't affect our effort on the defensive end."
After the hot start, it seemed as though there was a lid on the basket for the Mules. Central Missouri finished the first half 9-of-26 from the field, then missed 11 of its first 14 shots after intermission. Duke scored the first 10 points of the second frame—a 43-9 run spanning both halves—before Brennen Hughes ended the 6:09 scoring drought. Dickerson would finish the game missing 10 of his last 11 shots.
Okafor didn't have a lot of field goals—seven of his 15 points came at the charity stripe—but did turn in the day's two highlight plays. The freshman put the exclamation point on Duke's 17-0 run with a thunderous dunk over Central Missouri freshman Brad Woodson on a pass in transition from Jones. Early in the second half, the Chicago native swatted a shot off the backboard for one his four blocks, leading to a run-out in transition. Freshman Tyus Jones then ound Winslow on the ensuing two-on-one fast break, and the rookie from Houston flushed it to push the Blue Devil lead to 26.
With the outcome of the game decided, Allen made a late push into double figures with a pair of 3-pointers, one from each corner. The Jacksonville, Fla., native made his only two shots from behind the arc, but the rest of his teammates did not fare nearly as well. The Blue Devils shot 7-of-25 from downtown Saturday after hitting 15 triples against Livingstone.
Duke ratcheted up the pressure in the second half, forcing 13 giveaways by the Mules, including six in a 1:50 stretch midway through the period. The Blue Devils extended their man-to-man pressure all the way into the full court, something Krzyzewski is likely to continue moving forward with a stable of quick, athletic guards who can frustrate opposing ball-handlers.
"That’s what we’ve been doing since the summer, that’s what we’ve been working on," Tyus Jones said." We knew we were going to press and pick up full [court]. We’re pretty comfortable with it now, but we’re still trying to make it better."
The Blue Devils will have one more week of practice to improve that press even more before opening the regular season at home against Presbyterian Friday at 6 p.m.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.