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Duke thumps UNCG 96-62
Singler provides early offensive spark for Blue Devils, finishes with 20 points
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Published: November 14, 2009
Updated: 11/14/2009 02:20 am
DURHAM
Few things in college basketball are more certain than the outcome of a Duke home game against a nonconference team.
Or, for that matter, the outcome of a season opener.
Sparked early by Kyle Singler, Duke cruised past spirited UNG Greensboro 96-62 last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium to open its 30th season under Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Duke trailed once, on the game's opening basket, but UNCG held tough for 25 minutes. A run led by Ben Stywall cut the lead to 54-37 with 16:08 left, after Duke built a 48-27 halftime advantage, but UNCG got no closer.
Duke buried consecutive 3-point shots, the first by freshman guard Andre Dawkins, and the other by freshman forward Ryan Kelly, and the lead was 23 points 67 seconds later.
Krzyzewski said both 3-point baskets were important for his team. Jon Scheyer praised his new teammates for having the composure to fire away and to hit at a time when the other team was trying to come back.
"Those were big shots by those two guys," Scheyer said. "They're mature and I think they're ready for those opportunities. Those were some big shots because they pushed the lead and we took off from there."
Coach Mike Dement of UNCG called a timeout after Kelly's basket, sensing that Duke was about to go on a significant run, but the break was of little help.
UNCG missed its next shot and then Duke's Lance Thomas dunked, catching a pass at the basket from Dawkins, who had driven the right baseline, and the margin was 62-37 with 14:14 left.
Both teams were playing their season openers. Duke built its home winning streak against out-of-conference opponents to 69 games, the largest current streak in major-college play and the second largest in school history.
The win was also Duke's 10th consecutive in a season opener. The first nine games of that streak were decided by an average 32.8 points. UNCG has lost all eight of its games against Duke.
Duke was without two players who would have been probable starters: Nolan Smith, a guard who is sitting out the first two games after playing in an unsanctioned summer league game, and Mason Plumlee, a 6-10 forward who has a fractured wrist.
Five players still scored at least 10 points, led by Singler with 20. He scored 14 points in 19 minutes in the first half in helping Duke build its halftime lead. Scheyer added 18 and handed out four assists and committed no turnovers in 37 minutes of playing time.
Brian Zoubek, a 7-1 center, generated the biggest spark off the bench, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 16 minutes. Zoubek contributed to what Dement considers his team's biggest problem, Duke's tall lineup.
"They're good; they present some problems because of their size," Dement said. "Even though we might be there (in defensive position), they can still see the basket. We couldn't prepare for their size.
"How do you guard that size?"
Stywall led UNCG with 19 points, all in the second half, and grabbed eight rebounds.
Scheyer was the only guard in a starting lineup that included four forwards. Olek Czyz, a sophomore, moved into the starting lineup with Plumlee out and played 24 minutes, a career high. Behind Scheyer and Singler, Duke built a 23-8 lead in the first eight minutes.
Singler said Duke had concerns, but no worries, with Smith and Plumlee sitting on the sideline and the lineup missing two vital players.
"I think Jon and I did a good job of making sure that guys weren't out of control and we weren't hectic," Singler said. "I thought we were calm and collected as a group.
"I thought we handled pressure pretty well. I thought the guys were supportive in making sure that we took care of the ball. That was the main key, controlling the ball and not having too many turnovers."
UNCG Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF PT
Stywall 30 7-16 5-6 5-8 1 3 19
Brown 20 3-5 0-1 1-3 2 4 6
Randall 31 3-7 2-4 0-1 4 0 9
Evans 22 0-6 1-2 2-4 3 3 1
Koivisto 30 2-7 2-2 0-0 0 2 8
VanDussen 20 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 3 2
Smith 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Toney 14 2-4 0-2 1-1 1 1 5
Sellers 10 2-3 0-0 0-1 0 2 4
Cole 18 4-8 0-0 1-2 0 1 8
Jackson 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Totals 200 24-60 10-18 13-26 12 20 62
Percentages: FG .400, FT .556. 3-Point Goals: 4-12, .333 (Koivisto 2-7, Randall 1-1, Toney 1-2, Evans 0-2). Team Rebounds: 6. Blocked Shots: 1 (Brown). Turnovers: 14 (Randall 5, Sellers 3, Evans 2, Brown 2, Toney, Stywall). Steals: 5 (VanDussen 2, Randall, Stywall, Sellers). Technical Fouls: None.
DUKE Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF PT
Czyz 24 3-3 0-0 3-6 3 3 6
MiPlumlee 24 4-10 2-4 5-9 0 2 10
Thomas 29 4-6 4-4 2-7 2 3 12
Singler 38 9-15 0-0 0-5 2 2 20
Scheyer 37 5-10 6-7 0-3 4 0 18
Dawkins 15 3-6 0-0 1-3 2 4 8
Kelly 13 3-5 1-2 1-3 1 1 8
Johnson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Peters 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Zoubek 16 6-7 2-3 3-7 2 3 14
Totals 200 37-62 15-20 15-44 16 18 96
Percentages: FG .597, FT .750. 3-Point Goals: 7-18, .389 (Dawkins 2-4, Singler 2-5, Scheyer 2-7, Kelly 1-2). Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked Shots: 8 (Mi.Plumlee 3, Singler 2, Dawkins, Kelly, Zoubek). Turnovers: 13 (Thomas 5, Mi.Plumlee 3, Zoubek 2, Singler 2, Czyz). Steals: 8 (Zoubek 2, Czyz 2, Mi.Plumlee, Singler, Thomas, Scheyer). Technical Fouls: None.
UNCG 27 35 -- 62
Duke 48 48 -- 96
A--9,314.
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