No. 5 Duke posts wire-to-wire win over George Mason

Cooper Flagg scored 24 points to lead No. 5 Duke to its fifth straight victory, defeating visiting George Mason 68-47 on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.

Flagg hit 7-of-20 shots from the floor and tallied nine rebounds, four assists and three steals to power the Blue Devils (9-2), who improved to 7-0 at home. Isaiah Evans was second in scoring for Duke with nine points.

Jalen Hayes paced the Patriots (7-4) with 18 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, while Darius Maddox added 12 points.

Duke never trailed, opening the game with back-to-back 3-pointers from Flagg and Proctor, both on assists by Sion James. James finished with three assists, seven points and two steals.

The Blue Devils led 25-16 at the break, then pulled away for a comfortable lead by opening the second half with a 15-4 run. Flagg powered the Blue Devils with eight points and two assists during that crucial stretch.

Duke came in ranking second nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric and held the Patriots to a season-worst 29.4 percent shooting from the floor and a 2-of-17 mark from 3-point range.

George Mason entered the matchup with a solid defense, too, ranking third nationally in opponent shooting percentage (35.4) but the Blue Devils shot slightly above that mark -- making 37.5 percent of shots from the floor -- and knocked down 9-of-27 3-pointers (33.3 percent).

The Blue Devils have one more nonconference game this season, against Illinois on a neutral court in New York on Feb. 22. In the meantime, Atlantic Coast Conference play begins in earnest for Duke, starting on Saturday at Georgia Tech.

George Mason faces two more nonconference foes before opening Atlantic 10 Confence play on Dec. 31 against Davidson. The Patriots return to action on Sunday against visiting Penn, then host Mount Saint Mary's on Dec. 28.

--Field Level Media