Joey Baker catches fire as Duke basketball blows out Fort Valley State

In what was his best performance in a Duke basketball jersey, Joey Baker lit up the scoreboard in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Blue Devils rolled in their final preseason warmup.

The Duke basketball full-court pressure was key as the Blue Devils scored the first 17 points of the game in what would be a 126-57 win over Fort Valley State in the team’s final exhibition game.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski went with a different starting lineup this time around, with junior Jordan Goldwire and freshman Cassius Stanley replacing senior Jack White and freshman Wendell Moore. They were joined by sophomore Tre Jones and freshmen Vernon Carey Jr. and Matthew Hurt.

The Blue Devils were able to force 16 first-half turnovers (36 total) and would take a 67-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

But the story in this one was sophomore forward Joey Baker.

After playing just four minutes in Duke’s first exhibition game, Baker was a spark off the bench and provided some much needed 3-point shooting for the Blue Devils. He was able to knock down six 3-pointers on eight attempts and would finish with a game-high 22 points.

If Baker can consistently provide 3-point shooting off the bench, it would be huge for this team because that is once again going to be the team’s biggest weakness.

But the outside shooting was much improved this game. Duke was able to knock down 13 3-pointers after making just two in its first exhibition game against Northwest Missouri State.

Carey and Hurt dominated the much smaller Fort Valley State in the paint, combining for 30 points and 11 rebounds. Hurt was also able to hit two 3-pointers.

Stanley and Moore both had nice bounce-back games. Stanley scored 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting while Moore went for 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists and made his only 3-point attempt after really struggling the first game.

Jones and Goldwire were constantly pressuring the opposing backcourt. Goldwire finished with five steals while Jones tallied three. Both distributed the ball well, combining for 14 assists.

And a nice moment occurred at the end of this one. Krzyzewski’s grandson Michael Savarino was able to get in the game and would make two free throws.

Here’s the box score:

This was No. 4 Duke’s final exhibition game before taking on No. 3 Kansas in the State Farm Champions Classic next Tuesday at 7 p.m. from Madison Square Garden.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions regarding the 2019-20 Duke basketball team.