DURHAM, N.C. _ Already owning a win over a ranked team this month, Winthrop took its shot at No. 1 Duke on Friday night.
Three nights after suffering an upset loss to Stephen F. Austin, the Blue Devils allowed the Eagles to hang tough for 35 minutes before pulling away.
Freshman big man Vernon Carey scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half as Duke outlasted Winthrop, 83-70, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Freshman Matthew Hurt led Duke (7-1) with a season-high 20 points as the Blue Devils returned to their winning ways at home following Tuesday's 85-83 overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin that ended a 150-game winning streak at home against non-conference foes.
Sophomore Joey Baker scored a career-best 16 points for Duke while Tre Jones added 15
Hunter Hale's 11 points led a balanced attack for Winthrop (4-4). He was the Eagles' lone double-figure scorer as they shot 43.9% overall. Winthrop hit just 6 of 21 3-point attempts (28.6 percent).
Duke led 42-35 at halftime and pushed its lead to 51-39 over the first four minutes of the second half.
The Blue Devils appeared to be in control, leading 57-46 with 13:41 to play, when their offense went cold. Duke went scoreless on seven consecutive possessions, turning the ball over three times while missing five shots in a row.
Hale drilled a 3-pointer for Winthrop and Chandler Vaudrin stole a Wendell Moore pass to score on a layup as the Eagles trimmed Duke's lead to 57-51.
A pair of Michael Anumba free throws with 9:44 to play left Duke up 57-53.
But, after that, the Eagles scored just one basket over the next four minutes. Jordan Goldwire's steal and layup with 6:11 left pushed Duke's lead back to double figures at 65-55.
Winthrop was never closer than seven points the rest of the game.
Joey Baker played his best stretch of basketball in a Duke uniform over eight first-half minutes. The 6-7 sophomore from Fayetteville scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, including hitting a pair of 3-pointers, while also picking up an assist. Baker finished with 16 points, hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers he attempted.
Entering the night having outrebounded its foes by an average of 13 per game, Duke only won the rebounding battle, 36-33, over the Eagles. Winthrop grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and 10 different Eagles had at least one rebound.
Duke freshman guard Cassius Stanley left the game with 18:26 to play suffering from an apparent left leg injury. Stanley missed a layup on a fast break with 18:43 left and fell to the court. Grimacing, it took him a few seconds to get up and he attempted to run back to join Duke on defense. But he only made it to half court. Teammates Mike Buckmire and Michael Savarino helped Stanley off the court since he was unable to bear weight on his left leg. Stanley had four points and three assists in the game prior to his injury.
