“Just be in this moment. Don’t go to Portland yet. If you go to Portland mentally, you’re going to lose this game. I credit Jeremy [Roach] and our leadership for just really locking into this game and taking care of business tonight.”
That was Jon Scheyer’s message to his Duke team.
Bellarmine screamed “trap game.” A tough mid-major with a distinctly unique offense coming into Cameron the day before a cross-country trip prefacing a three-game holiday tournament.
And they already have one ACC pelt to their credit, Louisville.
Duke didn’t let it be a trap game. The Blue Devils broke open a close contest in the middle of the first half and never really let the visitors back into the game.
The final was 74-57.
If you didn’t see the game it’s hard to describe how difficult it is to defend the Bellarmine offense, especially for a team giving major minutes to five freshmen. They weave and fake and bob and you look up and the shot clock is under five seconds and most teams panic in that situation. But they live for that environment.
“Bellarmine is a tough team to play against,” Scheyer said after inhaling deep. “I don’t know the stat yet but I want to know how many times they scored with under five seconds on the shot clock. You have a tendency to put your head down after they make a play like that. It can be disheartening. But from beginning to end I thought our guys did a great job of impacting the ball on defense.”
Jeremy Roach described what it was like being on the floor.
“It’s hard. We knew what they were going to do. They’re going to get the ball down in the paint, pivot four or five times and then when the shot clock gets to three or four someone is going to back cut, someone is going to pop out for the 3, so we just wanted to be locked in for 30 seconds and we did that for the most part. That’s such an unorthodox team. We probably won’t see a team like that again this season.”
“They really didn’t stop moving at all,” Mark Mitchell added. “It was hard to help and still know where your man was. It was unique and a good challenge for us.”
Duke only trailed once, at 7-6. Then Jaylen Blakes and Jake Grandison entered the game for Duke and the Devils never trailed again.
It was no coincidence.
“Jaylen and Jake just bring a certain energy,” Scheyer said. “They play the right way. They’re all about winning.”
Grandison hit a 3 and Duke was up 11-7, then Blakes scored in the paint, converted the foul shot and it was 16-9, then Blakes assisted a Mitchell 3 and it was 22-9.
A Jeremy Roach bomb made it 30-14. For a team that doesn’t score in a hurry it was danger zone for Bellarmine.
Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport explained how his team tried to claw back.
“Possession by possession. Our terminology is you score and you have go validate that with a stop. That’s the only way you catch up.”
Bellarmine closed the half with a 19-11 run, 6-0 in the final 40 seconds.
It was 41-33 at the half, just close enough to be concerning.
But Duke never let it get any closer. Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski opened the second half with 3-pointers and the lead never again dropped below nine. Grandison scored inside on a set play after a time out to make it 62-45 and Duke efficiently managed the clock down the stretch, leading by as many as 20 points late.
There’s a lot to like about Duke’s game. Led by Roach’s five assists, Duke assisted on 18 of 25 made field goals, against eight turnovers. Duke outrebounded the much smaller Knights 37-25 and had a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points. Duke also knocked down 14 of 35 from beyond the arc. Davenport said he didn’t want to give up that many 3s but it was the only way to limit Duke’s inside dominance.
Filipowski (18), Grandison (16) and Roach (10) led Duke in scoring, while Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor led Duke with eight rebounds.
Scheyer said Duke will figure out how to rest and recharge and try to take it one game at a time in Portland. Next game Th