Field Level Media
Dec 3, 2019
Freshman big man Vernon Carey scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 10 Duke to an 87-75 road victory over No. 11 Michigan State on Tuesday at the Breslin Center as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Carey also blocked three shots for Duke, and sophomore guard Tre Jones added 20 points and 12 assists for the Blue Devils (8-1). Sophomore Joey Baker scored 11, senior Javin DeLaurier added 10 points and freshman Matthew Hurt chipped in 10 as Duke also blocked 11 shots.
Junior Xavier Tillman scored 20 for Michigan State (5-3), while sophomore Marcus Bingham added 13 points and senior Cassius Winston scored 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Duke dampened a festive atmosphere as Michigan State retired the No. 23 of Draymond Green during a halftime ceremony.
After a fast-paced start in the opening minutes, the first half quickly became a Duke runaway. A 7-0 run late in the first half gave the Blue Devils a 32-18 lead that eventually grew to 36-20 after a Jones layup. Michigan State pulled to within 12, but Rocket Watts had his shot blocked in transition and Duke scored the final four points of the half to take a 45-29 lead into the locker room.
Carey scored 15 and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half for the Blue Devils, with Jones scoring 11 and handing out seven assists. Duke also outrebounded Michigan State 23-14 in the first half.
Michigan State came out firing to open the second half, using a 9-2 run to pull within 46-38 after a 3-pointer in transition from Winston led to a quick timeout for Duke. It was all the Blue Devils needed to stem the tide as Carey scored the next five points as the lead eventually grew to 63-46 on an acrobatic layup from Jones.
The lead eventually grew to 22 points just past the midway point of the second half, and Michigan State never mounted another comeback and ran out of gas trying to defend Carey.
--Field Level Media