After ten days off due to final exams, the Duke Basketball team is back on the court and the game against Princeton has reached halftime.
The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils are finally back on the floor and they started the game with the normal four freshman starters, Tre Jones, Cam Reddish, R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, and for the second straight game upperclassman Javin DeLaurier got the starting nod over Marques Bolden.
The Blue Devils got out to the slow start that was expected, missing its first seven shots and falling into a 8-0 hole before an R.J. Barrett bucket to end the Princeton run, as the Tigers took a 10-4 lead into the first media timeout.
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Throughout the early portion of the first half, the Blue Devils slowly got back into its rhythm, starting at the defensive end which would lead to transition opportunities at the other end of the court for easy looks at the basket.
The struggle of trying to score the ball for the Blue Devils continued deep into the first half as Princeton held a 18-16 lead at the under eight timeout.
Zion Williamson appeared to get hit in the mouth with an elbow and headed right for the bench to get checked out but he did return to the game.
The Blue Devils finally found its shooting stoke late in the first half, taking a 39 – 26 lead into the break.
Despite only making five of his fourteen shot attempts, R.J. Barrett led the way for the Blue Devils with 13 points and four rebounds, while Williamson added eight points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.
Tre Jones and Cam Reddish continued to struggle with their shooting, as Reddish only made two of his five shots, all coming from 3-point range as Jones was held scoreless in the first half, but contributed three assists and two rebounds.
Javin DeLaurier added two points, three rebounds, along with a steal and a block, while Jack White scored five points while grabbing two rebounds, two assists, and a block and a steal.
Alex O’Connell and Marques Bolden also got their names in the stat sheets, as O’Connell drained one 3-pointer and Bolden scored two points and three rebounds.
With the rust knocked off, expect the Blue Devils to build off its 13 point lead over Princeton and head into the big time matchup on Thursday night against the No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Princeton Tigers.