Playing outside Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time this season, No. 21 Duke found the answers to its sluggish offense to win its ACC opener against Notre Dame.
The Blue Devils shot 51.7 percent, seven points higher than their percentage over the season’s first four games, to beat the Fighting Irish 75-65 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana.
Duke (3-2, 1-0 ACC) hit 31 of 60 shots overall, including 8 of 15 on 3-pointers. The Blue Devils did so despite playing without freshman forward Jalen Johnson, who is out with a foot injury.
Sophomore Matthew Hurt led four Duke players in double figures with 18 points. Freshman guards DJ Steward (16) and Jeremy Roach (14) also contributed well after earning starting assignments from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Freshman forward Jaemyn Brakefield added 10 points off the bench for the Blue Devils.
Junior guard Dane Goodwin led all scorers with 25 points for Notre Dame (2-3, 0-1)
The Blue Devils shot 55 percent in the first half, building a lead as large as 11 before taking a 41-34 advantage to intermission.
The Irish drew as close as five points on two occasions in the second half, the last time at 55-50 with 10:43 to play.
But Duke scored the game’s next nine points on Jordan Goldwire’s jumper, Brakefield’s driving layup, Steward’s 3-pointer and Hurt’s fade-away jumper in the lane to push its lead to 64-50 with 7:26 to play.
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AND ONE
Brakefield,a 6-8 forward, continued to produce points for the Blue Devils off the bench as he scored in double figures for the third time in his last four games. He made 4 of 8 shots, including both his 3-point shots, and played turnover-free basketball in 24 minutes of play.
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LANE VIOLATION
Duke played its first game this season without freshman forward Jalen Johnson. The preseason all-ACC pick is sidelined with an unspecified foot injury that has him wearing a walking boot. Johnson didn’t travel with the team to Notre Dame. He’s due to have another MRI in two or three weeks to assess healing progress. Duke’s next two games are Dec. 29 against Pittsburgh and Jan. 2 against Florida State.
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ICYMI
Notre Dame added another perimeter option as Santa Clara transfer Trey Wertz, a Charlotte native, found out less than four hours before the game he would be eligible for the remainder of the season. The NCAA made a blanket ruling Wednesday that all Division I transfers in all sports can play immediately without sitting out a season.
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MAKING SENSE OF THE NUMBERS
1: Shots made by Duke sophomore Wendell Moore in 19 attempts from the field over Duke’s last three games.
8: Season-low number of turnovers committed by Duke against Notre Dame. The Blue Devils entered the game averaging 16 turnovers per game.
9: Minutes played by 6-10 center Patrick Tapé, a graduate transfer from Columbia who earned his first start for Duke.
