NEW YORK - Playing in the city that never sleeps, Duke was able to lull St. John's into an offensive slumber in the first half, using its pressure defense to limit the Red Storm to a paltry 10 points in the first 20 minutes Sunday.
The Blue Devils suffocated St. John's at every turn, using aggressive man-to-man defense on the perimeter and the active presence of Josh McRoberts in the post to establish a stranglehold on the contest from the opening tip.
Duke held St. John's scoreless for the game's first five minutes, jumping out to a 12-0 lead before the Red Storm got on the board. St. John's went through an even longer drought later in the half, failing to record a field goal in the final 10 minutes of the period. The Red Storm scored just two points in that span, allowing a 14-2 Blue Devils' run that at one point stretched the lead to 26.
The Red Storm shot 3-for-22 and committed 11 turnovers to fall behind 34-10 at the half.
"It wasn't a surprise to us at all," freshman Lance Thomas said of his team's first-half defensive performance. "We play defense the whole game and that's what we strive for in practice-just going out, pressuring the ball, being in the passing lanes and fronting the post."
For each team, the first half was eerily similar to their respective performances in their last games. Against Clemson Thursday night, Duke built a 24-point lead by holding the Tigers without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes until a Cliff Hammonds three-pointer beat the first-half buzzer.
The Red Storm, meanwhile, suffered a field goal drought over the final 11 minutes of the first half in its 72-48 loss to Louisville Wednesday.
The Blue Devils helped St. John's replicate that dubious feat by shutting down Red Storm center and leading scorer Lamont Hamilton in the first half. The senior turned the ball over on his first two touches and missed all five of his shots in the opening frame. Hamilton spent much of that first half badgered by McRoberts, who came back from two quiet games to dominate the paint. McRoberts had six blocks on the day to go along with nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
"We got the ball within seven feet of the basket at least eight times and you just got to come up with points," St. John's head coach Norm Roberts said. "Give McRoberts a lot of credit. Lamont made some good moves against him, and he's so big he just blocked him anyway. That kind of gets you a little bit demoralized."
The Red Storm did not get any help from its perimeter, as Anthony Mason, Jr.-St. John's second-leading scorer-sat for much of the first half with foul trouble. Mason played only five minutes in the period, making his only shot.
Duke's pressure man-to-man defense forced the Red Storm to begin their offense farther from the basket, and aggressive hedging on screens prevented St. John's from establishing any flow on the offensive end. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski said the defense was particularly effective since the Red Storm had seen a lot of zone defenses in their recent games.
"It took them out of their area where they normally run their offense," Krzyzewski said. "What we did was different and [it was] tough for them to simulate that, and they don't see it every day."
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