Field Level Media
Jan 8, 2019
Freshman forward Zion Williamson showed a perimeter touch to go with his rim-rattling moves, scoring 30 points as top-ranked Duke defeated host Wake Forest 87-65 on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
RJ Barrett tacked on 21 points, Marques Bolden posted 12 points and Cam Reddish had 10 points for the Blue Devils in their first true road game of the season.
Duke (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) was the first ranked team to visit Wake Forest this season.
The Blue Devils have won eight games in a row, all by double-digit margins.
Williamson, who had four 3-point baskets (on 21 attempts) entering the game, went 3-for-4 from long range by early in the second half. He ended up 13-for-16 from the field, also finishing with 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double.
Jaylen Hoard's 13 points, Brandon Childress' 12 points and Sharone Wright Jr.'s 12 points paced the Demon Deacons (7-7, 0-2), who have lost four of their last five games.
Wake Forest is 5-25 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams, with four of the upsets coming against Duke.
Hopes of another stunner were pretty much dashed when Duke began the second half on a 15-7 run in less than five minutes for a 57-41 advantage.
Using Reddish's 3-pointer in the waning seconds, Duke led 42-34 at halftime.
Duke didn't take full advantage of 10 first-half Wake Forest turnovers, committing nine giveaways of its own (and 17 total in the game). Plus, the Blue Devils were 3-for-6 on free throws before the break.
Duke had 13 assists on 17 baskets by halftime, while Wake Forest had three assists on 12 baskets.
For the game, the Blue Devils racked up 24 assists on 36 baskets while the Demon Deacons had six assists on 22 hoops.
Duke has won nine straight games in the series. The Blue Devils have a 172-78 record against the Demon Deacons.
--Field Level Media