Blue Devils slide past Vols

The Volunteers entered last night’s game against Duke having nailed 26 3-pointers in their opening two contests. Unfortunately for first-year head coach Cuonzo Martin, they were stifled on the outside by the Blue Devils’ perimeter defense in the opening game of the Maui Invitational.

No. 6 Duke defeated Tennessee 77-67 Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii, keeping the Volunteers scoreless from behind the arc on its way to the winners’ side of the tournament bracket.

Like many of their early season contests, the Blue Devils (5-0) came out of the gate slowly and were down by five midway through the first half. Although the Blue Devils finished the period with a 39-33 lead, they struggled to contain versatile forward Jeronne Maymon, who finished the half with eight points and six rebounds.

Freshman Austin Rivers kept Duke in the game throughout that first period, scoring 11 of his career-high 18 points in the first twenty minutes, including draining two-of-three from long range. Tennessee (2-1) missed all six of its first-half 3-point attempts.

The Volunteers were unable to regain their advantage in the second half, but refused to let the Blue Devils build a double-digit lead until the game’s waning moments. They kept the second half tight and even tied it once at 45 following a missed layup from Rivers and an answer on the ensuing fast break from Cameron Tatum. Their lone returning starter from last season, the 6-foot-7 senior displayed his veteran prowess with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists without a turnover.

Duke eventually pulled away, however, on the backs of Rivers, Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins who finished with 62 of the team’s 77 points. 21 of those points came on seven-of-18 shooting from downtown.

While the Blue Devils outscored Tennessee on the outside, they were beaten near the basket. The Volunteers scored 40 in the paint, compared to 32 by Duke, which was led on the inside by Mason Plumlee, who registered a game-high 13 rebounds.

With the victory, the Blue Devils advance to face a familiar opponent in Michigan, a team they just barely edged to advance to the Sweet 16 in last year’s NCAA tournament. The No. 15 Wolverines defeated No. 8 Memphis in their first round matchup, and will be looking for revenge after last season’s nail-biter loss.