The Blue Devils hold a commanding lead against Bowie State after holding the Bulldogs to less than double digits on the scoreboard for the majority of the first half.
Duke used a 19-0 run near the beginning of the half to pull away from the Bulldogs, who did not score for a stretch of more than five minutes, and lead 69-27 through 20 minutes. Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr. led the way on the perimeter, going 4-of-7 from the 3-point line and combining for 28 points, and the Blue Devil big men dominated in the post against a team without a player taller than 6-foot-8.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski sat freshmen Trevon Duval, Jordan Goldwire and Alex O'Connell for academic reasons, forcing the team to put three big men on the floor for most of the half. 6-foot-11 sophomore Javin DeLaurier started in place of Duval, with Allen shifting to the point.
The Blue Devils' size bothered Bowie State, which was unable to find any success near the rim with Duke primarily using a 2-3 zone on defense. Freshmen Wendell Carter Jr. and Marvin Bagley III had a block each and dominated the paint, with 28 points between them.
Coming off a strong performance last week, Carter is leading the team in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and the Blue Devils have five players with at least nine points.
Duke's defense smothered the Bulldogs throughout the half, holding them to 27.3 percent shooting. Bowie State only cracked double-digits at the nine-minute mark and made its first triple with six minutes left.
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