Methodical. Business-like.
No, those aren’t criticisms. Despite a wobble in the middle of the first half, Duke took care of business against Boston College Saturday afternoon in Cameron, pulling away for an 80-65 win.
Duke is now 18-5 overall, 9-3 in the ACC, while the Eagles dropped to 13-10 and 4-8.
All five Duke starters scored in double figures, while the Blue Devils notched 19 assists against seven turnovers.
It looked like Duke was poised to deliver an early knock-out blow, jumping to leads of 12-5, 22-14 and 25-18.
But Duke fell in love with the three-ball. Too much so, perhaps.
“We’ve been at our best when we’re not just settling for jump shots,” Scheyer said.
BC took its final lead at 28-27, with 4:47 left in the half, the culmination of a 10-2 run.
Kyle Filipowski said Duke “let up a little bit” after that early lead and it’s hard to disagree.
Duke hasn’t closed out the first half well lately. Scheyer said Duke worked specifically on that this week in practice and it paid off.
Sean Stewart scored twice inside, then Caleb Foster drilled a 3 and Duke was up 34-28. BC closed to two but Jeremy Roach hit a pull-up jumper and Duke went into intermission up 36-32, not optimal but better than being down a point.
But Duke was 4 for 18 from beyond the arc and didn’t shoot a single foul shot in the first half, even after BC was called for four fouls in the first 3:07.
Mark Mitchell said the halftime message was simple.
“Just closing out the half better.”
Mitchell exploded out of the blocks after intermission, attacking and getting to the rim.
Jared McCain hit a triple for a 39-32 lead then Mitchell scored 10 of Duke’s next 17 points, a 3-pointer included.
“Coach ran a couple of plays for me and they worked. I got a couple of easy baskets and seeing the ball go through, things changed for me.”
Scheyer praised Mitchell’s second half.
“The burst that he came out with to start the second half, he’s the one who got us separation. We’re at our best when he’s attacking. I just loved how aggressive he was.”
By that time Duke was up 56-43 and the lead never dropped below 12.
Duke shot 13 foul shots in the second half, making 10.
Those 19 assists?
“Just making the right play and it turned into points,” Scheyer said.
It wasn’t just offense that won the game. Duke managed the difficult task of controlling both the paint and the perimeter.
BC’s 7-1 grad student Quinten Post came into the game averaging 16.4 points per game. But Duke smothered him whenever he got the ball down low and held him to eight points.
“I think you saw a lot of doubles throughout the game,” Filipowski said. “That was one of our main priorities on the defensive end and I thought we did a really good job all around, just rotating, being in the places we were supposed to be, really getting the ball out of his hands, making him uncomfortable.”
But the Eagles also shot a measly 19 percent from beyond the arc (5-26), with Harris going 3 for 10.
Duke out-rebounded BC 38-33, with McCain grabbing 10
How does a 6-3 guard lead everyone in rebounds?
McCain cited effort and energy but also credited his high-school coach with teaching him how to read angles on missed shots.
Mitchell led everyone with 17 points, 15 in the second half. Roach and Filipowski each had 16, McCain 11, Tyrese Proctor 10, Foster 5, Stewart 5.
McCain also had a game-high five assists, one more than Roach.
No rest for the weary. Well, hopefully some. Duke hosts dangerous Wake Forest Monday night, the second time in three weeks Duke has been tasked with the Saturday/Monday Big Monday turnaround.
A good bounce-back week for a Duke team that was not very happy with its performance this time last week.
Scheyer said the goal was to keep getting better. Wake Monday night and then a three-game road trip will require nothing less.
Did Coach Scheyer address his conversation with the refs at the end of the 1st half?