DURHAM, N.C. — A 3-point shooting barrage, coupled with what’s becoming its usual shut-down defense, led No. 8 Duke to success on Monday night.
The Blue Devils set season highs in attempts while making 14 3-pointers to roll Bellarmine, 74-57, in nonconference basketball at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Jacob Grandison hit four 3-pointers while Kyle Filipowski sank three for the Blue Devils (4-1). Bellarmine (2-3), after trailing 41-33 at halftime, shot 33% in the second half as Duke pulled away.
Filipowski led Duke with 18 points while Grandison added 16 points as the Blue Devils hit 14 of 34 3-pointers (39.4%).
Duke hit four 3-pointers in the first six minutes after halftime to turn its eight-point halftime lead to a 52-42 advantage.
Duke hit eight 3-pointers in the first half, leading by as many as 16 points before Bellarmine’s late push on offense cut the Blue Devils lead to 41-33 at halftime.
While the Blue Devils hit 5 of their first 10 3-point attempts, Bellarmine struggled to find gaps in Duke’s half-court defense. The Knights hit only 4 of their first 13 shots as Duke built a 22-9 lead.
With Duke up 30-14 after a Jeremy Roach 3-pointer with 6:56 to play until halftime, the Knights rediscovered their shooting touch. Bellarmine hit eight of its last 11 shots of the half, including Juston Betz’s 3-pointer at the buzzer that sliced Duke’s lead into single-digits.
Filipowski keeps delivering
Having already authored three double-doubles while leading the team in scoring (15) and rebounding (11) averages, Filipowski scored his team-high 18 points while attempting just eight shots from the field, hitting four. He was 3 of 5 on 3-pointers and hit 7 of his 8 free throws. He also led Duke with eight rebounds.
Hello, Mr. Grandison
The shooter Duke hoped it was getting when Grandison transferred to the Blue Devils from Illinois last summer found his stroke on Monday night.
A 41% 3-point shooter for the Illini over the past two seasons, Grandison scored 13 points while hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers against Bellarmine. The 6-6 forward hit only 3 of 13 behind the arc over Duke’s first four games.
He made 6 of 9 shots overall against Bellarmine.
Lively finding his place
Projected as a sure first-round pick, perhaps as high as the top 10, in next summer’s NBA Draft, Duke freshman center Dereck Lively isn’t fully engaged in the half-court offense as of yet.
He missed Duke’s first game while recovering from the strained calf muscle he suffered in practice in mid-October. Against Bellarmine, he started but didn’t attempt a shot in the first half. That made him the only Duke player who saw action who didn’t attempt a shot before halftime.
He played a season-high 23 minutes, scoring two points with five rebounds.
Whitehead rusty
It’s to be expected since he fractured his foot during a team workout on Aug. 29 and had surgery the following day, but freshman forward Dariq Whitehead is a long way from playing up to his ability.
The 6-6 forward didn’t play in Duke’s first three games and saw 15 minutes of action in his first game for Duke last Friday when the Blue Devils beat Delaware, 92-58.
Against Bellarmine, Whitehead again came off the bench. While playing 10 minutes, he committed three fouls while hitting 1 of 4 shots (0 for 3 on 3-pointers) and scoring two points. He left a couple of wide-open shots short, showing he’s still getting into playing shape.
