Offense finds groove in blowout win
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski challenged his team after Wednesday night's loss to Georgia Tech dropped the Blue Devils to 0-2 in the ACC.
Consider the challenge answered, as Duke had a breakout offensive performance behind Jon Scheyer's 25 point effort to blow out Miami 85-63 in BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.
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Duke raced out to a big first half lead thanks to better than 80 percent field goal shooting in the opening 20 minutes, a mark that set a new school record and left Miami looking for answers.
Scheyer starred on the offensive end with his 25 points that included 4-6 three point shooting and 11-11 free throw shooting, but there was plenty of praise to go around after the game for other players.
Josh McRoberts filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and sophomore David McClure grabbed a career high 11 rebounds off the bench.
DeMarcus Nelson and Greg Paulus also contributed double figure scoring with 14 and 15 points, respectively.
Paulus had his best outing since Duke's win over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden, turning the ball over just two times and dishing out three assists while playing most of the second half with a bruised shoulder sustained while trying to set a screen.
For the game, Duke shot 68 percent, but its defense was just as key in the win.
Even though Miami shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, leading Hurricane scorer Jack McClinton was held to just five points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Brian Asbury's 19 points led the Hurricanes, who fell to 2-2 in the ACC.
Duke began what it hopes will be a large rise up the ACC ladder by picking up its first league win to improve to 1-2.