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Duke Basketball: Blue Devils fly past Virginia Union in exhibition

By Kevin Connelly

DURHAM, NC - JANUARY 04: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils steps onto the floor for the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 4, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - JANUARY 04: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils steps onto the floor for the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 4, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The first Duke Basketball preseason game of the 2018-19 season is in the books and the Blue Devils rolled over Virginia Union.

As you would expect, the Blue Devils were pretty sloppy and shaky to begin their first exhibition game of the season. As the first half moved along, Duke became much more comfortable offensively but the effort and intensity defensively just wasn’t there.

As the second half began, Duke kept their offensive rhythm and found some consistency and brought some new intensity on the defensive end.

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Duke was able to assert their dominance and defeat Virginia Union 106 – 64.

R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson were the headliners as they totaled 52 points, Barrett with 23 and Williamson adding 29 points, along with his highlight reel blocks and dunks.

Fellow freshman Cam Reddish also had an outstanding game with 13 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.

Minutes before the game started, the biggest question was that Marques Bolden got the start over Javin DeLauier.

Bolden looked a bit timid in the first half, but he gained confidence as the second half moved along finishing with six points and six rebounds.

DeLaurier finished the blowout victory with one point and two rebounds.

Perhaps one of the most eye-popping stat of the night is that Duke made 40 shots from the field on 33 assists, the way the Blue Devils moved the ball tonight was exceptional.

The biggest things that Coach K wants to see in these scrimmages is how the Blue Devils are progressing from game to game and trying to find rotations that work well together.

The Blue Devils will be back on the floor on Saturday afternoon as they host Ferris State in their final exhibition game before they face the Kentucky Wildcats in the Champions Classic on November 6.

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The game on Saturday is at 4:00 pm ET and can be seen on the ACC Network Extra or on the Watch ESPN app.

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