Duke basketball shares the wealth in win vs. Boston College
DURHAM – Sharing the ball, snatching down rebounds, scoring in transition.
Duke basketball did it all in spurts on its way to an 80-65 win against Boston College on Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The ninth-ranked Blue Devils (18-5, 9-3 ACC) had five players finish with double-digit points against the Eagles (13-10, 4-8).
Mark Mitchell had 17 points, Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach finished with 16 points each, and Jared McCain logged a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrese Proctor tallied 10 points.
The Blue Devils had 19 assists on 30 baskets, won the rebounding battle and got out in the open court with 15 fast-break points.
Duke is 14-0 against Boston College in Durham. Here are some other observations from the 14th win against the Eagles at Cameron.
Duke basketball’s Mark Mitchell staying consistent
The stat speaks for itself: Duke is 28-3 when Mark Mitchell scores 10 or more points. Often referred to as a “connector” by head coach Jon Scheyer, Mitchell has been as consistent as any Blue Devil since missing two games with a knee injury in mid-January. He had 17 points and seven rebounds against Boston College. In the previous five games, Mitchell averaged 13 points and 8.6 rebounds.
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Duke’s defense on Boston College’s Quinten Post
Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell and Sean Stewart teamed up to slow down All-ACC player Quinten Post. Boston College’s 7-footer didn’t score until making two free throws in the final minute of the first half. Coming off a 21-point, 12-rebound game against Florida State, Post had eight points and nine rebounds against the Blue Devils.
Sean Stewart keys closing stretch in first half
Trailing by one with just under four minutes left in the first half, Duke regained the lead behind a solid two-minute stretch from freshmen Sean Stewart and Caleb Foster. After connecting on an alley-oop for the key play in the win against Notre Dame, Stewart made a pair of buckets at the rim, and Foster drained a 3-pointer in transition for a quick 7-0 spurt that helped Duke take a 36-32 lead into the locker room.
Wake Forest up next for Duke
It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Blue Devils, who host Wake Forest on Monday night (7 p.m., ESPN) at Cameron. Duke has won 24 in a row against the Demon Deacons in Durham.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball vs. Boston College: Blue Devils show balance in win
