Duke rolls to 87-65 win over Troy in NCAA opener

. Duke showed up big from behind the arc in its first-round victory over Troy.

No. 2 Duke defeated the No. 15 Trojans, 87-65, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday and will play South Carolina at 8:40 p.m. in Sunday’s second round.

The Blue Devils shot 46.4 percent from the three-point line, and junior guard Grayson Allen made his first four before going 5-of-9 from deep on the night for a game-high 21 points.

Jayson Tatum (18), Matt Jones (14) and Frank Jackson (14) joined him in double-figures. It was Luke Kennard’s first time since Boston College on Jan. 7 not scoring in double figures; Duke’s leading scorer, who was elbowed in the face in the second half, was 3-of-12 for eight points.

Duke jumped on its first-round opponent early, going up 23-8 after a Matt Jones layup and free throw forced a Troy timeout.

Allen was 4-of-4, including three 3s, in the first half. He opened his scoring at 12:26 with his only two-point basket of the first. Harry Giles got the offensive rebound and spit the ball out to Allen on the wing.

Giles had a rebound, assists and block, which he did at the other end after the Allen basket, within his first minute on the floor.

Troy’s Wesley Person junior drove the lane and finished with a one-handed dunk with 14:58 to cut the Trojans’ lead to nine, but Duke fired back over the next 2 minutes and 10 seconds to capture an 18-point lead. Allen missed his first 3-pointer of the night but made two free throws for a 68-50 lead with 12:48 left.

Tatum recored four blocks, including a monster swat on Person inside 10 minutes.

Duke center Antonio Vrankovic was the first post sub, playing his most minutes since Duke visited Wake Forest on Jan. 28. The 7-footer picked up two points and three rebounds in four minutes.

Giles played three minutes and freshman forwards Jack White and Javin DeLaurier were in the last minute and 15 seconds, DeLaurier putting in two points in the final 30 seconds.

Sophomore forward Chase Jeter, who had a procedure to repair a herniated disc earlier this season, hasn’t played since a loss to Louisville on Jan. 13. Freshman center Marques Bolden hasn’t played significant minutes (more than double digits) since Duke went to Miami on Feb. 25.

Duke assistant Nate James said Bolden may have the flu.

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Duke rolls to 87-65 win over Troy in NCAA opener."