Duke bounces back with a 76-69 victory over St. Johns

Posted On: February 19, 2009 By: Cliff Comments: (one)

The Duke Blue Devils got back too the winning ways on Thursday night as they beat St. Johns by the score of 76-69. The Red Storm gave the Blue Devils all they could handle in the second half as they outscored the Devils by four points and had the lead down to five points with under 30 seconds to go. The seven point win snapped the two-game losing streak that the Blue Devils were on after losses to North Carolina and Boston College. Decent road win up in New York City where Duke usually does play pretty good.

Coack K used a different starting lineup in the game as he gave Elliot Williams a start. Williams played well in the first half as he scored nine points and finished the game with 11 points.

Also, Greg Paulus and Nolan Smith spent a lot of time on the bench tonight as Coack K played junior Jon Scheyer at the point guard position most of the game. Scheyer took control of the ball very nicely and kept the offense under control. I think Coack K was trying to get a point across to Paulus and Smith that they both need to control the ball better, defend better and also work on their shot selection.

As a team the Blue Devils were led by Gerald Henderson who scored 19 points. Following Henderson was Scheyer who added 18 points for the Blue Devils. The other two players that scored in double figures were Kyle Singler with 15 and Williams who we mentioned scored 11 earlier in the article. The only player to score off the bench was Miles Plumlee who had four points in the game.

One thing I didn’t care for during the game was having Bob Knight as an announcer. I feel he knows a lot about the game, however he drags his broadcasting on and on and talks way to much lol. Not as bad as Dicky V but bad enough that I wish someone else was announcing the game.

Duke will now have a big test on Sunday as they play Wake Forest once again. The game will be at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Blue Devils will need to bring their A game if they want to beat the Deamon Deacons and pick up their second win in a row.

Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

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One Response to “Duke bounces back with a 76-69 victory over St. Johns”

BahamaDukie Says:
February 19th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Our boys are over-rated and to think that Scheyer can run point against a quality opponent is wishful thinking. With no inside presence and too much perimeter shooting, 3′s we are in trouble down the stretch. K is locked into a system that is far too easy to prepare for and match up against. We have no distinct advantages at any position and unless we shoot lights out, we maybe a top 20 team come year end.
K must be willing to switch defenses and attck the basket more. To think that Zoubek has not been taught a jump hook at this stage of his career tells me we do not have the right staff in place coaching Big men. Even Singler should have that shot by now, and be a threat inside on some possessions. I am obviously frustrated and have watched this for many years it seems now….. Duke is the most predictable team in America and is very easy to prepare for, which is not somthing you would expect from a Hall of Fame coach.