The Duke Basketball team got back on track with a win over Winthrop on Friday night and used several key players to get the victory.
A bounce-back win, yes, but a resounding bounce-back win, no.
Nonetheless, the Duke Blue Devils picked up a victory on Friday night over the Winthrop Eagles after its defeat on Tuesday night against Stephen F. Austin.
Duke was able to extend its lead in the second half en route to an 83-70 victory behind career highs from Matthew Hurt and Joey Baker.
Hurt led the Blue Devils with 20 points and eight rebounds while Baker added 16 points off the bench on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from the 3-point line.
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Vernon Carey Jr. went for his sixth straight double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds while sophomore point guard Tre Jones ended the night with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals, but Jones did have five turnovers in the win.
Despite its on-court struggles on Friday night, Duke lost one of its key players in Cassius Stanley early in the second half to what is now being called a hamstring injury.
During the game, the team said Stanley would not return due to a knee injury, but in his postgame press conference, Mike Krzyzewski said it was not a knee injury, but rather a hamstring.
Coach K said the hope is to get the freshman guard back in late December as ACC play rolls around.
Duke will lose its No. 1 ranking on Monday afternoon, but with the sever parity in college basketball this season, it’s a wide-open field but after Tuesday’s upset, the Blue Devils have a chance to make a serious statement this week.
On Tuesday night Duke will travel to East Lansing to face the Michigan State Spartans and on Friday night the Blue Devils will be in Blacksburg to face the Virginia Tech Hokies.