That’s more like it.
Duke wasn’t perfect Saturday afternoon against Charlotte. But for several key stretches they were darn near close to it, never trailing in an 80-56 win that ended a two-game losing streak.
Jon Scheyer said the primary focus in practice this week was defense.
“I loved the collective effort on the defensive end.”
The results were apparent. Duke held the 49ers to 40 percent shooting from the field, four second-chance points and seven fast-break points.
Perhaps most impressively Duke held the visitors to 4 for 20 from beyond the arc.
“The previous games the guards kind of got into our paint,” Jaylen Blakes said “and when they get in your paint they can easily kick out and get a lot of open 3s. The perimeter took a lot of pride [today] in limiting their touches.”
Jeremy Roach added that “setting the tone defensively, that’s the biggest thing. Just kind of wearing them out, made them think twice.”
Jared McCain hit a 3-pointer on Duke’s first possession and Roach had an old-fashioned three-point play on the second to stake Duke to a 6-2 lead.
Duke led 14-11 about six minutes into the game before exploding. Ryan Young converted an offensive rebound, Roach and Blakes knocked down 3-pointers and it was 22-11.
After a Charlotte basket Duke outscored the visitors 5-0, then 13-3, then 5-0 and the Blue Devils had their biggest lead of the half, at 45-20.
Charlotte closed on a 7-0 run of their own and it was 45-27 at intermission.
Duke did all this without starting point guard Tyrese Proctor, on crutches, out with a sprained ankle.
Scheyer said Proctor is “unlikely” for Tuesday’s game against Hofstra.
Still, Duke had plenty of perimeter firepower. McCain had 14 points in the first half, Roach eight.
But Blakes was the player who most took advantage of Proctor’s absence. Blakes is a defensive bulldog. But he also scored seven points in the first half, including a monster dunk in transition, two of Duke’s 15 first-half fast-break points.
“It definitely feels good when the shots go in,” Blakes said, “but most importantly it’s about the energy I was bringing.”
Scheyer praised both, McCain for fighting through the worst shooting slump of his career, Blakes for, well, you guessed it, energy and toughness.
But Charlotte gained some momentum with that late surge and it carried over in the second half. They had a five-point possession to jump start an 11-0 run that cut Duke’s lead to 11 points, at 55-44.
“I didn’t think we came out at the beginning of the second half with the same mentality,” Scheyer acknowledged. “The game’s fragile.”
Duke hit the reset button and patiently rebuilt the lead.
Mark Mitchell was a big part of that. He missed his only 3-point attempt of the game but attacked the Charlotte defense relentlessly, going to the foul line eight times after intermission, making six.
“I thought Mark Mitchell had a great game,” Scheyer said. “He made some passes, he had 12 free throws, he drove the ball stronger than he had all year. He’s a key guy for us.”
“I just come out and try to play hard,” Mitchell said, dismissing his critics. “I don’t really listen to what other people say. I know who I am as a player. What happens is what happens. The coaches put me in good positions and I think it showed.”
If Duke’s defense was the primary focus of practice this week, sharing the ball was the secondary focus.
“We focused on defense this week,” Scheyer said “but we also focused on just what to do on offense. I wanted to get us moving better, passing it better. I’m not surprised at all with the shooting numbers, because of it. There’s a feeling where you know you’ll get it back, you’re more willing to give it up.”
“We were getting into the paint, kicking, one more, one more,” Roach said of his team’s passing. “When we hit the pocket, we can have any kind of pass we want.”
Duke assisted on 15 of 24 made field goals, with Kyle Filipowski leading the team with four.
Filipowski suffered through a 2 for 10 shooting game but compensated with those assists, 13 rebounds, a steal and a block.
McCain ended with a career-high 21 points, followed in double figures by Roach (18), Blakes (15) and Mitchell (12). Roach hit 5 of 9 from the field, 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, 5 of 5 from the line, with 3 assists and no turnovers, with a couple of steals thrown in for good measure.
And Blakes did not miss a shot, nailing all three of his 3-point attempts.
Duke hit 50 percent from the field, 55.6 (10-18) from beyond the arc, 78.6 (22-28) from the line, while out rebounding Charlotte 36-25.
So, a good week after a not so good week. Scheyer is pleased but says Duke is a long way from where it needs to be.
“I’m proud of the response that our team had. Our program is about not necessarily being perfect but it’s about competition, it’s about competing, it’s about responding. The last two games, we weren’t good enough. That includes everybody.
“This week was about getting back to work, taking accountability for what we all have to do better. I thought we had the best week of practice we’ve had all year. The competition was great, going after each other, making each other better. This gives us the blueprint for what we have to do moving forward.”
The 78.6% from the free throw line is huge. Team has to make the free ones.