Kennard, Duke top Tennessee State 65-55 in Giles’ debut
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke finally had all the players that made the Blue Devils the topranked team in the preseason — except that, for most of the night, they didn’t play like it.
Luke Kennard scored 24 points and No. 5 Duke beat Tennessee State 65-55 on Monday in the college debut of touted freshman Harry Giles.
Freshman forward Jayson Tatum added 14 points and Grayson Allen finished with 12 for the Blue Devils (11-1), who plodded through 30 mostly sluggish minutes before pulling away from a pesky Tigers team that threatened to spoil a big night for Giles.
“This game was a learning experience for us,” Kennard said. “We can’t take anything for granted. We’ve got to play each and every game like it’s the biggest game of the year. … I just don’t think we were really ready to play. … Our energy wasn’t there, our enthusiasm wasn’t there, and we just didn’t really have one guy that’s bringing us all the energy, and we really needed that tonight.”
Tennessee State led 36-34 on Wayne Martin’s jumper with 15 minutes left. Duke countered with a 25-3 run highlighted by five 3-pointers — including two by Kennard on consecutive possessions after he was left completely unguarded — to take a 59-39 lead.
Darreon Reddick and Tahjere McCall scored 14 points apiece for the Tigers (8-3).
Amile Jefferson had a careerbest 18 rebounds for Duke, which finally got Giles on the floor for the first time. One of the nation’s top recruits, he missed his senior season in high school with torn knee ligaments in his right knee and then missed the first 11 games at Duke after having his left knee scoped in October.
“First game, that was just shaking the rust off and getting the kinks out,” Giles said. “I think each day, each game, each practice, I’ll get better.”