It’s been a while since the Blue Devils were able to string together back to back games. After having 3 games cancelled and 2 games postponed to who knows win it was a treat for players, coaches and fans alike to get some semblance of schedule normality – oh and by the way it was the return of Coach K after missing the Boston College game after having to quarantine due to possible COVID exposure. Duke after coming back from 16 down against BC had Wake Forest today. Wake came into the game 0-2 in conference and the only team that has suffered as much as Duke has from issues related to COVD-19. Wake began the game completely up to the task in Durham Wake benefited from 9 first half Duke turnovers and a 13 to 7 edge in points off of turnovers. The Blue Devils would build a lead on the Demon Deacons to the tune of 13 points but Wake battled back and the Blue Devils ended the half up 4. Matthew Hurt started the game strong for the Blue Devils scoring 11 points on the first half on 5-6 shooting. Hurt and DJ Steward, who scored 12 in the first half, kept the Blue Devils viable despite their unforced errors.
The second half the Blue Devils go up by 7 on a Matthew Hurt 3 in the early seconds of the second half but the Deacons battled back to take a 1 point lead with 15:25 left in the second half. It took until the 3:33 mark in the second half for the Blue Devils to achieve breathing room and a double digit lead spurred on by another Matthew Hurt 3. The lead would never dip below double digits and the Blue Devils finished off the Deacons by 11 (79-68). The recurring theme for the Blue Devils has been keep turnovers low and rebound the basketball, the second half saw Duke turn the ball over only 5 time after a first half that saw them cough it up 9 times. Duke got timely rebounding, especially on the offensive end form Matthew Hurt and DJ Steward. Duke pulled down 15 offensive rebounds which lead to 15 second chance points. Overall the Blue Devils out-rebounded Wake 35-25.
Matthew Hurt led all scores with a career high 26 points on 10-15 shooting. Hurt also added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. DJ Steward added 21 points on 8-15 shooting and 6 rebounds. The Blue Devils got double-figure efforts from Jeremy Roach who scored 12 points and dished 4 assists and Jordan Goldwire who score 14 and hit 2-3 from beyond the arc. Wendell Moore who, once again, didn’t shoot the ball well (1-7) did lead the team in rebounding, pulling down 8 boards the game.
The Blue Devils shot 50.8% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 80% from the free throw line.
Daivien Williamson and Ismael Massoud each scored 17 points to lead the Demon Deacons.
