No. 4 Duke uses strong second half to dump Incarnate Word

Field Level Media|published: Tue 10th December, 21:42 2024

Dec 10, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Tyrese Proctor (5) looks to pass as Incarnate Word Cardinals forward Dylan Hayman (2) and Incarnate Word Cardinals guard Jalin Anderson (1) defend during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Khaman Maluach scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting to help No. 4 Duke pull away for a 72-46 victory over Incarnate Word on Tuesday night at Durham, N.C.

Isaiah Evans made four 3-pointers in the second half, where he scored all 14 of his points, as the Blue Devils (8-2) won their fourth consecutive game. Kon Knueppel had 10 points for Duke.

The Blue Devils outscored Incarnate 44-25 in the second half after a sluggish opening 20 minutes.

Jalin Anderson and Dylan Hayman had 11 points apiece to pace the Cardinals (5-5).

Incarnate Word made just 32.1 percent of its field-goal attempts and was 5 of 23 from behind the arc. The Cardinals were one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, making a solid 42.6 percent of their shots from deep entering Tuesday.

The Blue Devils shot 43.6 percent from the field, including an 8-of-25 mark from 3-point range. Freshman star Cooper Flagg had eight rebounds but scored a season-low six points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Duke owned a 44-26 rebounding advantage and a 30-14 edge in points in the paint while leading by as many as 31.

Duke led by seven at halftime before dominating the second half.

The Blue Devils scored the first 11 points of the period to take a 39-21 lead on two free throws by Flagg with 15:34 left in the game.

Incarnate Word missed its first eight field-goal attempts of the second half before finally scoring on Hayman's jumper with 13:23 remaining.

Later in the half, Knueppel and Evans made 3-pointers during an 8-0 run as the Duke lead reached 51-26 with 10:22 left.

Neither team shot well during a lackluster first half in which Duke led 28-21. The Blue Devils were 10 of 30 overall (33.3 percent), and the Cardinals made 7 of 26 shots (26.9 percent).

Duke had two 8-0 runs during the first half but still led just 24-21 after Anderson hit a trey with 59 seconds left. Maluach scored the final four points of the half to give the Blue Devils the seven-point advantage at intermission.

Maluach scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half while his teammates were a combined 6 of 26.

--Field Level Media

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