DURHAM, N.C. _ One man down and playing for the first time in two weeks, Duke used a complete team effort to shake off a slow start, defeating Wofford, 86-57, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils held a double-digit lead at the break, and watched that lead balloon to more than 20 once sophomore Joey Baker saw his second three go through the net.
Baker's second three in as many possessions pushed the Duke lead to 22 with 14:17 remaining in the game.
The second three gave Baker 11 points and he would finish with a career-high 22 points. The Fayetteville native connected on a career-high five made 3s. That kind of contribution, from a reserve who went 0-4 from the field in their last game, was exactly what the Blue Devils needed without their floor leader, Tre Jones.
Vernon Carey, Jr. led the team with 20 points.
It was announced earlier in the day that Jones would miss the game with a foot injury. Duke said Jones was day-to-day. They didn't need him much against the Terriers, who were coming off a win at North Carolina last Sunday.
Wofford was looking for its second straight win over a top 25 team, and got off to a pretty good start. The Terriers jumped out to a 7-3 lead, leaving the sparse crowd (students were on break) wondering if Wofford could knock off their second straight ACC opponent.
But the Blue Devils closed the first half strong.
Freshman forward Matthew Hurt, who came off the bench, chipped in with four of his eight points in the first half. His second dunk in a matter of three minutes put Duke up three, still not a big enough lead to relax the fans in Cameron.
The Blue Devils finally found a groove, scoring six in a row, capping off the run with a steal and dunk by Wendell Moore. The Duke cushion was aided by a three minute scoring drought by the Terriers.
The Blue Devils led by 13 at the break, thanks in part to every player contributing. All nine players who saw action in the first half scored at least two points. Carey and Hurt combined for 16 points, and Carey's dunk over Chevez Goodwin put Duke up 13 with less than three minutes remaining. Joey Baker hit three free throws to extend the lead to 16, 39-23, but Wofford's Tray Hollowell hit a three at the buzzer.
The three-point shot is what kept the Terriers in the game in the first half. Wofford came in making 11.2 three pointers a game, and had four at the half, shooting 37% from long range in the opening 20 minutes.
Duke outscored the Terriers 13-4 in the first six minutes of the second half, getting six of those 13 from Baker. Mike Krzyzewski played nine players in the first half and all nine scored. Wofford's best player, Chevez Goodwin, picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and the Blue Devils were able to take advantage. Goodwin, 6-9, was also the Terriers best inside presence, so that opened the door for Carey (6-10, 270), Hurt (6-9) and company on the boards.
Carey, who leads the ACC in field goal percentage, shot 8-for-11 from the floor. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, recording his eighth double-double of the year, the most among freshmen in the NCAA.
