DURHAM, N.C. — The void Manny Bates’ season-ending shoulder injury left in the middle of N.C. State’s defense was clearly on display Saturday when Duke big man Mark Williams ably took advantage.
A 7-1 sophomore center, Williams scored 19 points while grabbing 11 rebounds with eight blocked shots to lead the No. 8 Blue Devils to a 88-73 win over the Wolfpack in ACC basketball at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The 6-11 Bates, a redshirt junior, led the ACC in blocked shots the past two seasons and was considered the league’s top defensive big man. The dislocated shoulder he suffered in November removed a weapon the Wolfpack certainly needed Saturday.
Williams’ production was part of a stellar day of offense for Duke (14-2, 4-1 ACC). The Blue Devils shot a season-best 58.3% and did the majority of their scoring close to the basket. Duke finished with 58 points in the paint, with Williams providing the bulk of them.
“I thought our big guys did a great job,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Mark almost had a triple-double and he finished strong all day and Theo (John) gave us a lift. Really good by our team.”
Paolo Banchero, Duke’s 6-10 freshman forward, scored 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds for the Blue Devils. Theo John, Duke’s 6-9 reserve center, scored a season-best 10 points.
Freshman guard Trevor Keels also turned in a productive day with 12 points, nine assists and five steals for Duke. Junior Wendell Moore’s 15 points gave Duke four starters in double-figures.
Partially because of Williams swatting away so many shots to help Duke post a season-best 10 blocked shots, N.C. State shot just 41.3% overall. The Wolfpack managed to hit only 5 of 19 3-pointers.
Terquavion Smith led N.C. State (9-9, 2-5 ACC) with 19 points, and Dereon Seabron added 16 points.
“I thought our guys fought and played hard but they didn’t do everything the right way,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said.
N.C. State shot a healthy 47% in the first half but was slowed by 2 of 10 3-point shooting. The Wolfpack built two early seven-point leads at 9-2 and 15-8 before Duke got its offense rolling. A 9-0 run, with Keels tipping in a Griffin miss and later hitting a pull-up jumper, put the Blue Devils on top.
N.C. State took its last lead of the half when Seabron drove basket Duke guard Jeremy Roach for a layup that gave the Wolfpack a 21-20 lead.
But Duke responded with six points in a row on a Griffin 3-pointer, Joey Baker free throw and Williams’ basket off a Baker lob pass.
N.C. State climbed back within four points twice after that, including 38-34 with 2:26 left on Smith basket. But Duke closed the half on a 7-2 run. Keels hit another 3-pointer, Moore scored a layup in transition and Banchero added a slam dunk off a Roach pass to give Duke a 45-36 halftime lead.
The Blue Devils pushed their lead as large as 19 points in the second half, leading 66-47 after a Williams-fueled flurry after halftime.
