No. 1 Duke wins another one, beating Furman 92-63 in its first game of PK-80

For the second straight game on Monday night, Duke started slow. Last time, it was because it turned the ball over too many times. This time, because its opponents, Furman, made most of its shots.

But like its previous game, Duke strung together a few defensive stops and went on a run mid-way through the first half, giving them enough cushion to stay ahead for good. Duke would win 92-63 in its first game of the Phil Knight Invitational (PK-80).

The Blue Devils will continue the PK-80 on the road, traveling west to take on Portland State, Thursday on Thanksgiving Day.

Monday’s game was interesting from the start.

A little more than an hour before tip off, a fire alarm on the second floor of a men’s restroom went off. Everyone in the building was forced to evacuate, and the game was delayed for 15 minutes.

The Blue Devils were delayed in its start too. After 8 minutes of play, No. 1 Duke (5-0) trailed Furman (2-2) 16-15.

The Paladins started the game 5-for-6 from the floor. Duke soon slowed them down. On Friday against Southern it was similar. The score was tied at 27 late in the first half. The difference between that game though was Duke had played sluggish after having two days off from practice.

“That was not just them on Friday, that was all of us,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “And just the whole circumstance that we weren’t able to handle, given the two days off. And it shows you can be really bad.”

On Monday, the Blue Devils played a smoother game.

After being down 16-15, Duke forced four turnovers over the next 5 1/2 minutes and went on a 17-4 run. During that stretch freshman forward Marvin Bagley III went off, offensively and defensively. He scored 11 points, blocked a shot, stole the ball, picked up 2 assists, and even accidentally tipped in one basket for the other team.

On one play, he received the ball in the post, spun on the defender and dunked it. The crowd went wild.

“That kind of broke the game open,” Krzyzewski said of the stretch.

Bagley led all scorers with 24 points. He also grabbed 8 rebounds. Senior guard Grayson Allen had a season-low 5 points, but added 6 assists.

“I can’t really complain about anything, because we just won by 30,” Allen said. “I’m not really worried about it at all. I know nights like this, when they are starting 6-5 and 6-8, yeah we’re going to go inside and I’m not going to shoot as many shots. So that’s our strengths and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Krzyzewski said Allen has been banged up recently and has been held out of practice.

Duke didn’t let up in the second half. It only increased its lead. The Blue Devils were just more athletic and bigger than the Paladins. As a team, Duke shot 61 percent from the floor, its best shooting performance of the season. Furman shot 39 percent from the floor.

Freshman point guard Trevon Duval scored 18 points, and was 9-for-12 from the floor. Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points and 9 rebounds.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 9:13 PM with the headline "No. 1 Duke wins another one, beating Furman 92-63 in its first game of PK-80."