Published Oct 30, 2021
Duke rolls in exhibition blowout
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Conor O'Neill  •  DevilsIllustrated
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A complete Duke men’s basketball team, with an active AJ Griffin, blew out Winston-Salem State 106-38 in an exhibition game on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Griffin suffered a sprained knee on Oct. 8, with an MRI revealing no structural damage. Griffin played 18 minutes off the bench, with 10 points and six rebounds.

Duke’s starting lineup was the same group we saw together in the second 12-minute scrimmage of Countdown to Craziness, which was: Jeremy Roach, Trevor Keels, Wendell Moore Jr., Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams.

Banchero scored a game-high 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting, with nine rebounds, which also led Duke.

Three other starters scored in double figures. Williams scored 14 points with five rebounds and five blocks, Keels had 12 points, and Roach had 10 points and a game-high seven assists.

Moore didn’t get to double-figure scoring, but had eight points and six assists. Bates Jones had 11 points off the bench, and Theo John had six points and five rebounds.

Duke, which opens the season Nov. 9 against Kentucky in the Champions Classic, was up 22-2 before this game was 5 minutes old. In that opening stretch, the Blue Devils got 3-pointers from Keels, Moore and Roach, and Panchero, Williams and John also scored.

Duke’s defense shouldn’t be lost in the scoring numbers: Winston-Salem State shot 4-for-30 in the first half, with three times as many turnovers (12) as made shots. Duke outscored the Rams 32-4 in the paint in the first half.