After exploding for a season-high 110 points against Georgia Tech Wednesday, the Blue Devils are lighting up the scoreboard again.
In its first game without head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the sidelines, No. 8 Duke has jumped out to a 53-34 lead against Boston College Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils, aided by 17 Eagle turnovers, picked up right where they left off against the Yellow Jackets, shooting 63.3 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Graduate student Amile Jefferson and freshman Frank Jackson led the way with 11 points apiece as the home team assisted on 15 of its 19 made shots. Jefferson left the floor with about seven minutes remaining in the period after landing awkwardly following a missed shot, eventually going into the locker room and not returning to the bench.
As it has done many times this year, Duke started off slow and fell behind 11-6 after four minutes.
But the Blue Devils quickly responded with a 7-0 run before the first media timeout, punctuated by a behind-the-back bounce pass from junior Grayson Allen to Jefferson on a fastbreak.
Coming out of the media timeout, Duke continued to stretch its lead, sparked by a key 3-pointer from Jackson, who entered the game off the bench. Jackson and senior Matt Jones also helped out with solid perimeter defense on the Eagles’ Ky Bowman—who had poured in seven early points to get the Boston College offense going—and leading scorer Jerome Robinson.
Another 3-pointer from Jackson and a free throw on the next possession pushed the Blue Devil run to 25-5 in a span of less than five minutes, putting the Eagles in a 15-point hole. Duke continued to pile it on offensively, using a string of backdoor cuts and good ball movement to get plenty of open looks near the basket.
Allen once again focused on facilitating in his second game back from suspension, with a career-high nine assists against two turnovers and just three field goal attempts.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- For the second straight game, the Blue Devils went with a starting five of Allen, Kennard, Jefferson, Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles.
- Associate head coach Jeff Capel went to his bench quickly, subbing in Jones and Marques Bolden just three minutes into the game. Jackson also entered the contest after the first media timeout.
- Boston College entered the game averaging 15.4 turnovers per game, and committed six in the first six minutes. The Eagles finished the period with 17, with their giveaways frequently leading to transition opportunities on the other end.
- Seven different Duke players scored in the opening period, with Bolden being the only player who saw time without registering a point.
- Although he struggled at times in transition defense once again, Giles had another strong half with six points and three rebounds.
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