DURHAM, N.C. – Duke made more than half of its field goal attempts and shot better than 40 percent from long distance, while limiting Lincoln (Pa.) to just 22 second-half points, as the Blue Devils debuted with a convincing 107-56 exhibition victory over the reigning CIAA champions on Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Duke won the opening tip and lit the scoreboard first courtesy of a turnaround jumper in the paint by freshman Cooper Flagg at 19:43.
• On the Blue Devils’ next possession, sophomore Caleb Foster knocked down a triple for a 5-0 lead.
• Flagg demonstrated his defensive prowess early with a pair of blocked shots in less than three minutes.
• At the first media timeout (15:02), both teams were shooting 50% or better (Lincoln 50% / Duke 75%) with the Blue Devils holding a 14-11 advantage.
• Flagg connected on a 3-pointer to lift the Blue Devil cushion to 27-19 at 9:31 of the first half.
• After a Lincoln layup, freshman Kon Knueppel nailed his third 3-pointer for a 30-21 margin.
• Flagg reached double-digit scoring with an old-fashioned three-point play at 8:43 for a  33-21 Duke lead.
• Knueppel’s fourth triple of the opening half increased Duke’s lead to 40-28 at 6:51.
• On the ensuing possession, Foster’s transition layup grew the cushion to 42-28.
• Knueppel struck again from distance (5-of-7) at 5:29 to cap an 8-0 run and make the score 45-28 in favor of the home team.
• Junior Tyrese Proctor hit from long range with 30 seconds remaining to provide Duke with a 56-34 halftime advantage – the Blue Devils’ largest lead of the opening 20 minutes.
• Flagg’s jam in traffic improved Duke’s cushion to 63-38 at 16:57 of the second half.
• One minute later, Knueppel ignited the crowd with a powerful one-handed poster dunk over a Lincoln defender for a 27-point lead.
• Duke registered its third consecutive dunk when Proctor tossed a lob to freshman Khaman Maluach for a rim-rocking alley-oop slam and a 67-43 advantage at 14:47.
• The crowd erupted following a fastbreak highlight dunk by Flagg on the lob from junior Maliq Brown, making the score 81-50 at 7:18.
• Graduate Sion James connected on a 3-pointer with 4:09 left to give Duke a 40-point lead, 92-52.
• With the crowd’s energy heightening all afternoon, the loudest moment came with less than two minutes remaining when graduate Spencer Hubbard connected in a layup, followed by a finger-roll bucket by senior Stanley Borden.

NOTES

• Freshman Cooper Flagg topped three Blue Devils to score in double figures with 22 points, connecting on 8-of-16 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, while adding game-highs of six assists and four blocked shots with two rebounds.
• Junior Tyrese Proctor tallied 19 points, three assists and three boards.
• Freshman Kon Knueppel drained five 3-pointers, all in the first half, to finish with 17 points and five caroms.
• Freshman Khaman Maluach grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, scored four points and swatted two shots.
• Junior Maliq Brown, who led the ACC in steals last season while at Syracuse, picked up where he left off by securing a game-high three steals.
• Freshman Isaiah Evans contributed nine points and freshman Darren Harris and sophomore Caleb Foster registered eight points each, as 12 different Blue Devils scored.
• Duke out-rebounded Lincoln 47-31, and out-scored the Lions 19-7 in second-chance points.
• The Blue Devils forced 18 turnovers with 12 steals, resulting in 36 points off turnovers.
• Duke distributed 25 assists on 37 made baskets, while only committing eight turnovers.

QUOTES

• “The first thing is our guys get tired of playing against each other. I think we’ve had 63 days of summer workouts, preseason, and practice. So, you get tired of it. The second thing is we have a very specific kind of group. We’re bigger. We’re longer. I’m not sure we’re the quickest team in the country. So, to see that quickness, I think was really helpful. And then, just to see different schemes and play against some different bodies, I think that’s what’s so helpful about it. On day one, to play a team like Lincoln – they returned their entire team. Julius Hodge, obviously, he is a terrific player; as good of a player as there is in the ACC. I know what a competitor he is. I thought he had his guys incredibly well-prepared. They’re quick. I think to see a quick team that can drive the ball was helpful. And they really compete. The game was really good, but a ton to work on, and it’s good that we have another week of practice.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
• “I think all the teams we’ve had have been talented.  We’re a team that competes at a really high level and you can see that on a day-to-day basis in practice.  Our practices have been really, really crazy, and everyone competes really hard in practice, and that’s only going to make us better.” – Duke junior guard Tyrese Proctor 
• “It felt great, an incredible atmosphere.  It was amazing to be out there and play and have fun.  It was a great opportunity to come out and play somebody else.  We’ve been practicing for a long time now, so [it was] a great opportunity to go out and compete against a team that has pretty much everybody back from last year.  So, it was a really good team, really skilled, quick, so it was a good test to just come out and play against somebody that knew what they were doing, and was really well-setup and well-coached.  I thought we did well.  Obviously, there’s a lot to work on – this was the first game.  We’ll be able to look back on it and take a lot from it. It was incredibly special.  It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was young, playing college basketball, and I dreamed about playing at Duke as well.  So just getting that experience, the first time playing against a real opponent, it was kind of surreal.” – Duke guard/forward Cooper Flagg

UP NEXT

• The Blue Devils return to exhibition action on Sunday, Oct. 27, hosting Arizona State in the Brotherhood Run charity game, benefiting Duke Children’s Hospital. Tipoff on the ACC Network is at 7 p.m. inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke men’s basketball national champions Jon Scheyer and Bobby Hurley will meet on the hardwood as opposing head coaches.

Gallery: (10-19-2024) Duke MBB Defeats Lincoln, 107-56

 
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