Duke finds poise, blows out Princeton

DURHAM

Duke needed some time to find its bearings in its season-opening basketball game last night, but located its spark in a moment of trouble and blew Princeton out of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils, the defending national champions, recorded a 97-60 victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, using a barrage of 3-point shots to open a 77-41 lead with more than eight minutes left.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke said that his team was inspired by the best opening-game crowd that he has seen in his 31 seasons at the school.

“I thought we played with great energy for 40 minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “We had too much energy on the offensive end in the first half. We just wanted it so badly.

“I think we screwed up about five fast breaks where we had numerical advantage. We should have had points. We didn’t attack their zone right. We were a little bit whacked out with all the energy. In the second half I thought we combined energy and poise.”

Princeton stayed close for 15 minutes, but Duke forged a 42-28 halftime lead with a spurt in the final 82 seconds of the first half.

Duke appeared in trouble in the second half when Kyle Singler picked up his third foul with 17:05 left and Mason Plumlee drew his third with 16:13 remaining.

Krzyzewski took both players out of the game immediately after their fouls, and Duke’s bench filled in admirably.

When Singler left, Duke led 50-34. By the time he returned with 10:02 remaining, the lead had reached 71-41.

Duke led 58-37 when Andre Dawkins drilled a 3-point shot from the top of the key.

Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer from just left of the top of the key two minutes later, Dawkins hit another about a minute later, and then Nolan Smith made one for the 36-point advantage.

Smith said that the burst was a testament to the quality of Duke’s depth, to make up for two missing starters.

“We know when somebody like Kyle goes out to step up,” Smith said. “Guys came in and made plays.

“When I saw Kyle go out, I tried to get more aggressive and make more plays for myself and others. We can pick up any lost slack.”

Smith and Singler, the veterans in Duke’s lineup, led an effort in which their team never trailed. Smith scored 22 points and Singler had 16, including 14 in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting.

Irving, a freshman point guard, added 17 points and nine assists. Irving called his Duke debut “a great experience” in which his nerves were running full bore, which was at least partially responsible for him missing six of 10 shots from the field.

“My excitement level was at an all-time high,” Irving said. “I was really excited, as any freshman would be. Once the game got going and I hit a free throw and I hit a 3-pointer, I felt like I was into the game.”

Princeton fell to 1-1. Dan Mavraides led Princeton with 16 points, and Ian Hummer added 14.

Duke shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half, hitting 20 of 30 shots, and hit 72.7 percent of its 3-point attempts, making eight of 11. Duke forced 27 turnovers, getting 17 in the first half.

Krzyzewski attributed the second-half execution to his team calming down. He spoke to the team at halftime for a little longer than usual, for almost five minutes, about channeling its energy.

“I was explaining that poise needs to happen in a halfcourt,” Krzyzewski said.

“To win big, you have to be able to run good halfcourt offense.

“Our guards need to control that. They can’t just push it up the court. They have to get people in position.”

bcole@wsjournal.com

PRINCETON — Maddox 1-5 4-6 6, Hummer 5-11 4-8 14, Connolly 2-4 0-0 4, Davis 2-7 0-0 4, Mavraides 6-8 0-0 16, Sherburne 0-1 0-0 0, Bray 2-4 0-0 5, Foley 1-1 0-0 3, Hazel 0-1 0-0 0, Clement 0-0 0-0 0, Comfort 0-0 0-0 0, Saunders 1-2 0-0 2, Barrett 0-1 0-0 0, Darrow 3-5 0-1 6, Edwards 0-0 0-4 0. Totals 23-50 8-19 60.

DUKE — Ma. Plumlee 2-4 1-1 5, Singler 7-10 0-0 16, Mi. Plumlee 1-2 0-0 2, Irving 4-10 6-6 17, Smith 10-15 0-0 22, Thornton 1-1 0-0 2, Hairston 1-1 0-0 2, Dawkins 5-9 0-0 13, Curry 4-10 3-3 14, Kelly 1-3 1-2 4. Totals 36-65 11-12 97.

Halftime—Duke 42-28. 3-Point Goals—Princeton 6-16 (Mavraides 4-5, Foley 1-1, Bray 1-2, Hazel 0-1, Barrett 0-1, Darrow 0-1, Maddox 0-2, Davis 0-3), Duke 14-26 (Curry 3-5, Irving 3-6, Dawkins 3-6, Singler 2-3, Smith 2-5, Kelly 1-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Princeton 31 (Hummer 7), Duke 29 (Irving, Ma. Plumlee, Singler, Smith 4). Assists—Princeton 14 (Maddox 6), Duke 26 (Irving 9). Total Fouls—Princeton 15, Duke 17. A—9,314.