It was a story of two halves.
Well, more specifically it was a tale of turnovers in two halves.
In the first half against Lipscomb, Duke seemed totally disjointed and was shooting the ball constantly, racking up 16 before halftime, which was somewhat shocking for a team that has really taken care of the ball all season.
Advertisement
It was just consistent: Cameron Boozer had four. Nik Khamenia, Isaiah Evans and Cayden Boozer each had three. Four other players had one and only Caleb Foster, Maliq Brown and Darren Harris went into half-time without one.
And Lipscomb, well-trained and mature, was ready to take advantage of the situation. After going up 10-0, Duke fell 26-16 and had to fight to catch up. They achieved it at halftime, but turnovers sabotaged them.
Add in an ugly fall by Nik Khamenia, who landed on his face after fighting for the ball, and the first half looked like a waste for the Blue Devils.
However, they rallied and took a hard-earned 48-45 lead into the locker room when Cameron Boozer scored at the buzzer.
Advertisement
The second half was totally different.
Duke got things going and began to pull away from the Bisons. Boozer made a pair of free throws to put Duke up 52-49. He then scored a layup and Evans scored a dunk to take the lead 56-49. And soon the floodgates opened. Duke began to defend better and came out in transition, scoring easier baskets.
And, above all, they simply stopped coughing up the ball.
Foul trouble for Lipscomb also helped.
The first half wasn’t pretty at all, but the games that come after exams rarely are.
However, after the first half, we began to see a lot of what has set Duke apart. The Blue Devils defended very well and kept Lipscomb off the boards.
Advertisement
That was actually one of the best points for the Blue Devils: Duke simply dominated the boards, 55-21. On the offensive end, the Blue Devils totally took over, 20-3.
And while Lipscomb gained points off turnovers, 27-11, Duke destroyed the Bisons on second-chance points, 26-0.
In the end, while Lipscomb showed plenty of grit in the first half, Duke had too much, outscoring the Bisons 49-28 in the second.
Turnovers were a problem here, but they won’t be a problem in the long run. They had never had a match like this before. In fact, against Michigan State last time, Duke only had 8. It has more to do with the exam break and lack of timing.
Advertisement
The Blue Devils have a few days to sort things out before traveling back to the Garden to take on Texas Tech.
Notes: Boozer had another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds… Patrick Ngongba also had one with 10 and 11… also had 2 blocks… we saw notable toughness from Khamenia after his face bounced off the floor and Darren Harris, who really played hard… Cayden Boozer had four turnovers, but otherwise played pretty well… Foster is playing with some swagger that we haven’t seen before… look at him when he drives… a guy different…down the stretch, Duke was a very different team…once Dame Sarr fully adjusts, she will be a major factor…her physical gifts are truly impressive…