Duke’s Jeremy Roach (3) is fouled by Louisville’s Sydney Curry (21) during the second first half of Duke’s 79-62 victory over Louisville at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.
ehyman@newsobserver.com
Durham
Duke’s balanced offensive attack produced a workmanlike win over last-place Louisville on Monday night.
Five Blue Devils scored in double-figures, led by Jeremy Roach’s 14 points, as Duke topped the visiting Cardinals, 79-62, in ACC basketball.
The Blue Devils (20-8,11-6 ACC) won their third consecutive game while remaining unbeaten in 14 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Roach, Duke’s junior captain, scored 12 points in the second half when Duke led by as many as 17 points.
Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski each added 13 points, while Tyrese Proctor 12 points and Dereck Lively 10 for the Blue Devils, who shot 53.8% in the second half to finish at 48.9% for the game. Duke committed just six turnovers, it’s lowest total in an ACC game this season.
Durham native El Ellis scored 21 points for Louisville (4-24, 2-15) while JJ Traynor added 16 points. The Cardinals shot 42.6%
After scoring four points in the first half, Filipowski scored nine consecutive Duke points early in the second half as the Blue Devils built on their nine-point halftime lead.
A Dariq Whitehead 3-pointer at 15:10 ended Filipowski’s scoring streak and boosted the Blue Devils lead to 56-41.
The Duke lead grew to 17 when Jacob Grandison sank a 3-pointer at 13:41 putting the Blue Devils up 59-42.
The Cardinals chipped away at the deficit, drawing as close at 10 points five times in the final 10 minutes. But Duke never let Louisville get within single digits again.
Despite a hot shooting start from Ellis, Duke took a 42-33 lead to halftime.
Ellis scored 11 of Louisville’s first 13 points, hitting his first three 3-point shots, helping the Cardinals take an early 18-9 lead.
Once Ellis and the Cardinals cooled off, the Blue Devils found their shooting touch and unleashed 13 consecutive points to take the lead for good.
Lively’s two free throws started the surge, followed by 3-pointers from Proctor and Grandison. After two Mitchell free throws, Grandison sank a 3-pointer from the opposite corner as his first to give Duke a 22-18 lead.
Two Ellis free throws sliced Duke’s lead to 29-24 with 5:46 left until halftime. But Mitchell scored Duke’s next seven points. After his two dunks in transition, Mitchell rebounded a Proctor miss to score and draw a foul. His free throw gave Duke a 36-26 lead at 2:43 of the first half.
After starting 7 of 11 from the field, the Cardinals missed 10 of their next 12 shots to allow the Blue Devils to move in front. Louisville finished the first half shooting 46.2%.
The Blue Devils shot 45.5%, getting two 3-pointers each from Grandison and Proctor.
Steve Wiseman has covered Duke athletics since 2010 for the Durham Herald-Sun and Raleigh News & Observer. He placed second in both beat writing and breaking news in the 2019 Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. Previously, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.