Freshmen Jalen Johnson, DJ Steward lead No. 9 Duke past Coppin State
Selected as a first-team, all-ACC player before he played his first game, Jalen Johnson appeared worthy of those accolades for No. 9 Duke on Saturday.
Freshman D.J. Steward’s play off the bench proved to be just as important for the Blue Devils.
Johnson made every shot he took from the field, finishing with 19 points and 19 rebounds, while Steward led Duke with 24 as the Blue Devils held off a late Coppin State charge to beat the Eagles 81-71 in the season-opening game for both teams at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The game was played with no spectators in attendance as part of Duke’s health-and-safety play during the coronavirus pandemic. Both Coppin State and Duke were scheduled to open their seasons on Wednesday, but those games were called off due to positive COVID-19 tests.
Gardner-Webb’s COVID-19 issues delayed Duke’s opener. Coppin State had a positive test among its traveling party which caused its games at Marshall’s multi-team event to be canceled Wednesday and Thursday.
Once the teams got to play, Duke looked good early in jumping to a 45-28 halftime lead. But the Blue Devils’ turnover issues, particularly in the second half, allowed the Eagles to climb back as close as six points.
But Steward’s shooting off the bench helped Duke hold on. The freshman guard hit 10 of 18 shots overall, including 4 of 9 3-pointers.
Duke overcame its own 22 turnovers by shooting 53.1 percent from the field.
And one
Johnson proved as good as his five-star recruiting ranking promised from the game’s beginning. On his way to a double-double, he had nine points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots over his first 13 minutes of play as Duke opened a 35-21 lead.
Lane violation
ICYMI
Though it’s six-man freshman class is filled with top recruits, Duke went with a mostly veteran starting lineup in the season opener. Senior guard Jordan Goldwire and junior guard Joey Baker were joined by sophomores Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore in the starting five with freshman forward Jalen Johnson.
Making sense of the numbers
5 -- Coppin State turnovers over the game’s first 32 minutes. The Eagles finished with just 8.
22 -- Points scored each by Coppin State’s top two scorers, DeJuan Clayton and Anthony Tarke.
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 4:01 PM.