Duke gets tested, pulls away to defeat Army 94-72
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke got something from Army that it didn’t against Kentucky: A test.
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils pulled away to beat the Black Knights 94-72 on Sunday behind 27 points and 16 rebounds from Zion Williamson.
Playing five days after routing the second-ranked Wildcats in the Champions Classic, they shot 49 percent but couldn’t shake the Black Knights until the final 10 minutes, finally pulling away with an 11-0 run keyed by 3-pointers from fellow freshmen RJ Barrett and Cameron Reddish.
“It’s one thing for somebody to tell you that everybody’s going to bring their best against you, that all their shots are going to feel like they’re going in,” Williamson said. “But I think until you truly experience it, I think you just have to go through it to fully understand.”
Reddish finished with 25 points and Barrett had 23 while Williamson added six blocked shots and four assists for the Blue Devils (2-0), who next week play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at Lahaina Civic Center.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski called the matchup against his alma mater “a perfect game for us following Kentucky” and said his team’s preparation wasn’t at a high enough level beforehand.
“That whole thing, the hangover of success and travel and then getting ready” for a game, Krzyzewski said. “The only way you do it is to do it. And our guys don’t feel good about themselves right now. And that’s good. Although they turned it around in the second half, they were in a position to lose the game and they responded, and they responded really well.”
Matt Wilson scored 15 points and Tommy Funk added 12 for Army (1-1).
“Our guys stuck to the game plan,” Army coach Jimmy Allen said. “Trying to keep them out of the paint, trying to keep them from getting some easy baskets inside and force them to take some shots from the perimeter, and trying to get them to have to make a few passes in a possession.”