Well, the Blue Devils did not technically start slow against the George Mason Patriots Tuesday Night. They simply spent the most of the game in an offensive funk, sans a run here and there. The Blue Devils ran good offense for the majority of the game, they just didn’t do a good job of hitting shots – from 2, 3 or the free throw line.
Duke never seemed to not be in control, which is probably the best one can ask for in games following exam breaks. Even with the sloppiness and Duke’s sub-30% shooting from the field in the first half, the good guys still managed to eke out a 9 point halftime lead against the Patriots. Mostly on the strength of their defensive intensity. 10 of Duke’s 25 points game off of Patriot turnovers.
Duke doubled their lead coming out after halftime with a quick 11-2 run, beginning with a Kon Knueppel layup. The Blue Devils would expand that 18 point lead to 22, but a near 5-minute scoring drought kept the score within reach, but the Patriots never really threatened the Blue Devils. Even with the long lapses in scoring, the Blue Devils nearly doubled up their first half shooting percentages, shooting 52% from 2 and 41.67% from 3-point range.
The Blue Devils were paced by freshman Cooper Flagg, who scored a game high 24 points. Flagg also led the Blue Devils in rebounds (9), assists (4) and steals (3). Freshman Isaiah Evans came alive in the second half, hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc after going 0-2 in the first half. Next up for the Blue Devils is their second ACC game of the season, as the Blue Devils travel to Atlanta to face the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech on Saturday.
