GREENSBORO—For the second straight game, Duke is locked in a surprisingly tight game at halftime, but this time it is a fast-paced shootout.
And the spotlight will be on Grayson Allen's first-half trip and technical foul.
The Blue Devils trail Elon 35-34 at the Greensboro Coliseum, with freshman Jayson Tatum and sophomore Luke Kennard leading the way with 11 points apiece. After Tennessee State challenged the Blue Devils by slowing the game down and being physical Monday, Elon has run up and down the court and shot 7-of-14 from beyond the arc to stay with Duke so far.
After Allen received a technical foul for tripping Phoenix guard Steven Santa Ana with the Blue Devils leading 32-24, Duke missed its final 10 shots and allowed Elon to close the period on a 11-2 spurt.
Although Tatum scored the first five points of the game, Elon quickly responded with a 12-2 run in a two-minute span highlighted by three 3-pointers. Forward Brian Dawkins leads the Phoenix with a trio of triples and nine points.
Kennard and Allen both knocked down 3-pointers to get Duke back into the game and the Blue Devils regained the lead midway through the half on a steal and breakaway dunk by senior Matt Jones, but the two teams went back and forth for the next few minutes until the Phoenix went cold.
Duke rattled off six points in a row and held Elon scoreless for more than three-minutes to take a 32-24 lead with just more than four minutes remaining before the Blue Devils went cold at the end of the half.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Tatum has now scored in double figures in all five of his college games and finally had a strong first half after usually taking until the second half to get going in the last few contests.
- Freshman Harry Giles entered the game for the first time with 12:23 remaining in the first half and still has not recorded any points in a Duke uniform, but it was not for a lack of trying. He missed two shots from close range on the left block and was only defended by 6-foot-1 Luke Eddy on the second attempt.
- Jones played his best half of the last month, swishing a 3-pointer from the wing to get his shooting stroke back and jumping in the passing lanes to create multiple turnovers on defense. Even though he has seven points, the Blue Devils still trail.
- Allen did not return after his emotional outburst following the technical foul and has three points on 1-of-6
- Elon is outrebounding the Blue Devils XX-YY and is generally looking like the more energetic team. Duke's veterans all talked after Monday's game about coming out with more energy, but it hasn't been there consistently tonight.
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