AJ Griffin poured in 19 points off the bench as No. 2 Duke overwhelmed visiting South Carolina State 103-62 Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.
Trevor Keels had 14 points, Joey Baker pumped in 13, Paolo Banchero 12, Wendell Moore Jr. 11 and Mark Williams 10. Banchero led the Blue Devils with seven rebounds and six assists.
Duke (8-1) was coming off a two-week layoff, last playing Nov. 30 when it lost its No. 1 ranking in a defeat at Ohio State. Tuesday’s contest began a run of three games in five days.
The Blue Devils led 60-23 at halftime, so there wasn’t much drama.
It was just the third time this season that South Carolina State (3-8) lost by more than a dozen points.
Edward Oliver-Hampton scored 13 points off the bench and Cameron Jones had 10 points for the Bulldogs, who shot just 4-for-20 on 3-pointers on the way to 32.5 percent overall from the field.
Duke’s starters combined to shoot 18-for-32 from the field. The team finished 22 of 24 from the free-throw line.
Duke knocked down 15 of 27 attempts from 3-point range. Griffin, Baker and Jeremy Roach all made three from long distance. Eight Blue Devils players made at least one 3-pointer.
Griffin was 7-for-8 from the field. That helped Duke to 55.9 percent overall from the floor, helping to make up for 16 turnovers.
South Carolina State finished with a 42-39 edge in rebounds and was charged with 17 turnovers.
Duke improved to 8-0 against South Carolina State, though the teams hadn’t met in 23 years.
One of Duke’s 3-point baskets came from seldom-used Michael Savarino, who’s a grandson of coach Mike Krzyzewski. Savarino was in his first game action since a suspension last month stemming from a charge of driving under the influence.
–Field Level Media
