Duke opens ACC play with methodical win over Boston College.
Nine score for balanced Blue Devils.
Duke opened ACC play with a 75-59 win over Boston College Saturday afternoon.
This game was always going to be a bit of a grind. BC isn’t the league’s most talented team but they’re going to play hard, use all of the shot clock, try to turn it into a 40-minute slog.
“Every game is a little bit of a grind,” Jake Grandison said. “They kept it close for a little bit and we pulled away and kept the lead but you’ve always got to grind wins out.”
The ACC opener but also sandwiched between high-profile games between Ohio State last Wednesday and Iowa Tuesday in Madison Square Garden. Duke could have overlooked the Eagles.
And the visitors did lead early, never by very much. Their biggest lead was three points on several occasions and their last lead was at 11-10.
Duke started four freshmen but it wasn’t until some veterans came off the bench that Duke began to get control of the game. Ryan Young scored six points in his first two minutes into the game, the final two, a pair of foul shots giving Duke its first lead at 12-11. Then Grandison knocked down at 3 and it was 15-11. Another Grandison 3 made it 20-16 and Duke just methodically increased its lead.
“They’re always ready for us,” Jon Scheyer said of Grandison and Young. “Any given moment, any responsibility. They’re not about scoring, even though both of them can really score. It’s their toughness, it’s the winning plays. They’ve learned through their experience what it means to win. Having guys like that who are completely secure in who they are, they’ve been huge assets.”
And Jaylen Blakes came in for special praise from Jon Scheyer.
“He’s done a big-time job for us. He’s come in every game and given us energy.”
Blakes led Duke with five assists.
It was 35-23 at intermission.
BC’s only real shot at denting the lead came with Duke up 47-35. The Eagles had the ball three times with that score, launched 3-pointers all three times and missed all three.
They did score with a Jaeden Zachery layup to make it 47-37 after four consecutive empty possessions by Duke.
Mark Mitchell ended the drought with a driving layup, then Dariq Whitehead on a layup, then Kyle Filipowski twice from the line, Whitehead on an offensive rebound, a freshman-fueled 8-0 run that ended what little doubt remained.
Duke led by as much as 22 in the second half before giving up some of that with reserves on the court. A triple at the buzzer by Zachery mattered if you had money on the game--Duke was a 17.5 point favorite--but not much else in the overall scheme of things.
“I think it shows a level of maturity for our guys,” Young summed up. “We’re a younger team, still somewhat inexperienced at this point. So, it’s been awesome to see our team grow and battle through runs. I don’t think we were doing that earlier in the year. I see our team as a whole getting better every game.”
It wasn’t perfect. BC missed a lot of shots, which meant they had a lot of chances for offensive rebounds. But a 22-4 edge on second-chance points?
“That’s not characteristic of who we’ve been,” Scheyer said. “Give them credit. I think we were spread a little thin trying to take away the three [BC was 5 for 22] but still that’s something we have to clean up. We feel like there are always many things we need to do better.”
Mitchell overcame a slow start to lead Duke with 15 points, hitting 6 of 7 from the field, including a couple of 3-pointers. Filipowski had another double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Grandison ended with 10 points. Duke assisted on 19 of 28 made field goals and made 11 of 13 from the line, 8 of 21 on 3s.
Scheyer said Duke is playing more than it’s practicing and it’s back on the road for a late Tuesday matchup in the Garden with Iowa.
But Duke will go to the Big Apple riding a two-game winning streak and feeling pretty good about the trajectory of the team.