DURHAM, NC – Tenth-ranked Duke had four players in double figures to offset a 17-point night by Kyle Hines as the Blue Devils came away with a 75-48 win over the Spartans on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Spartans (0-3) had pulled within 54-40 midway through the second half after struggling in the first 20 minutes. UNCG shot just 6-for-26 in the first half and trailed 45-20 at the break.
“I liked the way our defense played in the second half,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement, a former Duke assistant. “They took us out of our sets in the first half. They are tough on Hines because they are just so big in the middle with the two seven-footers (Josh McRoberts and Brian Zoubek). I guarantee you that is the first time Kyle has seen that in two years and that he won't have to see that when we get into the conference schedule.”
Zoubek finished the game with 17 points in a matchup of big men from South Jersey. Hines hails from Sicklerville, NJ, just 15 miles from Zoubek's hometown of Haddonfield. The two had played against each other in summer leagues and had worked out together during their high school days.
Gerald Henderson added 12 points while DeMarcus Nelson and David McClure chipped in 11 points each.
Ricky Hickman, a junior from Winston-Salem, NC, added 12 points for the Spartans. Hines' 17 points extended his string of double-figure scoring games to 24 straight games, three shy of the school record. He also had eight rebounds and three blocks.
Duke (3-0), ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 10 in the ESPN / USA Today Coaches' Poll, scored the first nine points of the game before UNCG settled down following a timeout. UNCG scored eight of the next 13 before a Duke 14-2 run opened up a 27-10 advantage.
UNCG, however, came out of the locker room to the tune of a 13-4 run to open the second half, cutting the Duke lead to 49-33. UNCG held Duke without a field goal for nearly five minutes during that run. A Kevin Oleksiak three-pointer cut it to 54-40 with 10:52 to play.
“Give UNCG credit for that,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “They held us without a field goal for five minutes during that stretch.”
But Duke would hold UNCG to just eight points the rest of the way on 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
UNCG returns to action on Saturday when it comes home for its Fleming Gym opener to face East Carolina at 7 pm.
AGATE
DUKE 75, UNC GREENSBORO 48
UNC GREENSBORO (0-3)
Hines, Kyle 8-16 1-5 17; Hickman, Ricky 4-14 2-3 12; Oleksiak, Kevin 3-9 1-2 8; Stywall, Ben 2-9 2-2 6; Koivisto, Mikko 1-2 0-0 3; Tooms, Bart 0-3 2-2 2; Brown, Pete 0-2 0-0 0; Akinosho, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Toney, Kendall 0-0 0-0 0; Johnson, Dwyane 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-57 8-14 48.
DUKE (3-0)
Brian Zoubek 7-11 3-3 17; Gerald Henderson 6-11 0-3 12; David McClure 4-7 3-4 11; DeMarcus Nelson 5-9 0-0 11; Jon Scheyer 3-8 0-0 8; Josh McRoberts 3-3 0-0 6; Lance Thomas 2-5 2-4 6; Greg Paulus 1-3 1-2 4; Jamal Boykin 0-0 0-0 0; Martynas Pocius 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-58 9-16 75.
Halftime: Duke 45-20. 3-point goals--UNC Greensboro 4-11 (Hickman, Ricky 2-3; Oleksiak, Kevin 1-4; Koivisto, Mikko 1-1; Tooms, Bart 0-1; Stywall, Ben 0-1; Hines, Kyle 0-1), Duke 4-7 (Jon Scheyer 2-4; DeMarcus Nelson 1-2; Greg Paulus 1-1). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-None, Duke-None. Rebounds--UNC Greensboro 31 (Hines, Kyle 8), Duke 41 (David McClure 9). Assists--UNC Greensboro 9 (Johnson, Dwyane 4), Duke 18 (Josh McRoberts 7). Total fouls--UNC Greensboro 15, Duke 17. Technical fouls--UNC Greensboro-None, Duke-None. A-9314
- UNCG -
