After trailing Georgia Southern for much of the first half in its last game, Duke jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in its 75-48 victory over UNC Greensboro Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils (3-0) used full-court pressure to force the Spartans out of their offensive rhythm early on. UNC-G (0-3) turned the ball over 15 times in the first half alone.
"They took us out of everything that we tried to run," UNC-G head coach Mike Dement said. "We're a little more of a team that likes to run sets and get good shots, and they took us out of all that. We didn't get good shots."
The Blue Devils held the Spartans to just six field goals and 20 points in the first half en route to a 25-point lead at intermission. Dave McClure led the defensive charge with seven steals in the game to go along with his 11 points and nine rebounds.
"McClure was special tonight," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He played very well. We're going to need that."
The defense let up a little at the start of the second half, allowing UNC-G to go on a 16-5 run. Duke responded, however, to hold the Spartans to just five points in the final eight minutes of the game. The Blue Devils have held all three of their opponents to fewer than 50 points this season.
Offensively, Duke again exhibited balance, with four players scoring in double figures. Brian Zoubek used his size down low to score a team-high 17 points in 20 minutes.
Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, and each threw down a highlight-reel dunk in the contest.
The Blue Devils, however, did stall at the start of the second half, going nearly five minutes without scoring to allow the Spartans to close the gap to 14.
"What happens sometimes with our team-we're playing so hard defensively that when we get a turnover or a rebound, we force some action that isn't there," Krzyzewski said. "At times, our offense sputters or we make a mistake."
Duke's struggles in the half-court offense come as Greg Paulus continues to return to game shape after a suffering a foot injury in the pre-season. The sophomore point guard-who came off the bench to play 20 minutes and had three of Duke's 21 turnovers-is still trying to find his rhythm offensively.
"The game today was better than the other two games for Greg," Krzyzewski said. "He has a lot of catching up to do. It's just going to take a little bit of time, but he'll be there."
With Paulus coming off the bench, Josh McRoberts has been playing more on the perimeter. Although the forward dished out seven assists, he scored only six points on three shots.
"Josh is such a good passer, but we need to get him more shots," Krzyzewski said. "That transition with helping bring the ball up-it has to evolve a little bit more."
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