Jabari Parker poured in a game-high 23 points as the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils defeated Eastern Michigan to extend its non-conference home win streak.
Duke had another stout defensive effort, especially in the second half as they held the Eagles to 59 points on 37.5 percent shooting. The Blue Devils added 9 blocks and forced Eastern Michigan into 15 turnovers.
Duke also continued to improve on the boards as they crushed the Eagles out rebounding them 47-32 ( 21 Offensive). Amile Jefferson led the Devils with 14 rebounds, while Parker and Hood grabbed 8 apiece.
Despite some sloppy play in the beginning of the second half the Blue Devils offense looked sharp. Duke is currently ranked 13th in the nation, scoring 85.5 points per game and 4th in the nation with a .514 field goal shooting percentage.
Andre Dawkins had a nice game as well as he stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points (6-10 from 3 point range) 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Rasheed Sulaimon also had a solid game, his second in a row after a horrid start to the season. Sulaimon played 22 minutes, scored 13 points and had three assists.
The one area that the Blue Devils struggled in the game was from the free throw line. Duke shot 75 percent but missed a lot of shots early on that in a closer game could have hurt them. This isn’t the first time that the Blue Devils have struggled from the charity stripe though one has to hope that there was a bit of rust from another long break.
Duke has one more tune up game before ACC play begins when they match up against Elon on New Year’s Eve in the Greensboro Coliseum.
