Duke Beats New Mexico State 86-61. Next up Princeton and the Maui Invitational
| 7
|
by Wrmjr
Duke got off to a quick start and built a 17 point lead in the first 10 minutes against New Mexico State University. Duke ended up winning 86-61. Though the Blue Devils did not shoot as well in this game as they did against North Carolina Central, their tenacious defense gave them ample opportunities to score. Duke had 11 steals (4 by Paulus) and 6 block shots and forced the Aggies into a total of 26 turnovers.
Greg Paulus looked better than he has in these early games and exhibitions. He scored 9 points on 4 of 6 shooting, and had 8 assists versus only 3 turnovers. The real spark, though, came from John Scheyeroff the bench. Scheyer scored 22, including 4 three pointers. DeMarcus Nelson chipped in 14 points and 7 boards.
Overall, Duke looked good, but not necessarily like the 10th best team in the nation. Preseason rankings don’t matter much in basketball, where a team has 25-30 games to show where they belong in the rankings, but at this point, Duke’s ranking seems high.
The Aggies are a better team than the score indicates. They were down by as much as 30 points and clawed their way back into the teens. They are without their star freshman forward Herb Pope, who is awaiting NCAA academic approval. Center Hatila Passos got his 3rd and 4th fouls early in the 2nd half. No one on the team shot particularly well, with the exception of sub Wendell McKines who was 5-6 for 10 points. Justin Hawkins managed a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds), but he was the only one who could manage against the intense Duke pressure.
Duke next travels to the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii, where they will meet Princeton in the first round. Princeton opened their season with a 59-57 win over Central Connecticut State. Center Zach Finley led them with 22 points on 10 of 11 shooting. Princeton doesn’t match up particularly well with the Blue Devils, but their style of play can be frustrating for a young team to play against. With Princeton’s history of upsets, Duke can’t afford to look ahead to later games in the tournament.
