By Bob Sutton

On Saturday, No.16 Duke defeated Queens 106-69 with Jared McCain leading the team with a season-high of 24 points in the game held in Durham, North Carolina.

Duke’s Kyle Filipowski contributed 19 points and achieved a personal best of five blocked shots in their victory over (9-3). The talented freshman McCain has also scored 21 or more points in three of the team’s four consecutive wins.

McCain expressed his satisfaction in returning and using each game as a foundation. As a freshman, the experience of college basketball can be unpredictable.

McCain made 9 out of 14 shots, with 4 of those being 3-pointers.

According to Duke coach Jon Scheyer, Jared stands out as a player. He admires Jared’s readiness to shoot and acknowledges that it adds another level to the team’s performance.

Caleb Foster scored 13 points and Mark Mitchell contributed 10 points and eight rebounds for the Blue Devils.

Queens (6-9) suffered their second consecutive loss on the road to a highly-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team, with Deyton Albury leading the team with 23 points. Jaxon Pollard also contributed 10 points to the game.

Queen’s coach Grant Leonard stated that there were instances where the team showed great effort and determination. He also mentioned that there were times when the team performed exceptionally well. However, they need to work on improving their performance.

Tyrese Proctor, guard for the Blue Devils, returned to the game after a four-week absence due to an ankle injury. He came off the bench in the first half and made a 3-pointer in the second half, helping Duke secure a 67-44 lead. Proctor finished with nine points and four assists.

“I am approaching full physical capability,” stated Proctor, who was a starter for the first eight games. “I was pleased with my level of performance.”

Proctor was on the court for 18 minutes, which exceeded Scheyer’s expectations by three minutes.

“I believe he played with great efficiency,” stated Scheyer. “Returning to the court was inevitable and there will always be some rust. This was a significant step for him.”

During the first half, McCain scored a total of 17 points, allowing the Blue Devils to have a significant lead of 46-33 by halftime. This was the team’s highest-scoring first half of the entire season. Under Scheyer’s leadership as coach, Duke achieved their first game with a score of 100 points.

BIG PICTURE

The Queens basketball team showed resilience in the first half after initially falling behind by a large margin, but their inability to consistently execute plays led to 19 turnovers.

Duke: Queens was no match for the Blue Devils, giving Proctor a chance to regain his game rhythm. Duke had a 58% field goal percentage, its highest since the season opener against Dartmouth (64.4%).

Source: wralsportsfan.com