Duke basketball big second half results in impressive victory against Hofstra

It was a game that immediately raised eyebrows the minute Jon Scheyer added it to the Duke basketball schedule and the Hofstra Pride proved to be as tough of a test on the court as they looked on paper.

Speedy Claxton's team was not afraid entering Cameron Indoor Stadium, shooting 51.7-percent from the floor and 46.2-percent from 3-point range, as the Pride built a 5-point lead, 37-32, four minutes before halftime, but a 12-2 spurt from Duke put the Blue Devils on top going, 44-39, into the locker room.

The defense was abysmal from Duke in the opening 20 minutes but things were able to change in the second half as Hofstra (6-4) turned the ball over 10 times and were just 4-for-11 from deep after the intermission as the Blue Devils prevailed with the 89-68 victory.

There was no answer in the paint for Kyle Filipowski, who had 17 points in the first half, as he was closing in on a triple-double before he was removed with four minutes to go in regulation following his 28-point, 12-rebound, and 8-assist performance.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from the same spot in the right corner from Filipowski pushed the Duke lead to 12 points, 55-43, early in the second half and his final triple of the night would come during a 12-0 run with 7:49 remaining that sealed the victory for the Blue Devils.

Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, and Jared McCain also reached double figures for the Blue Devils as the team shot 55.0-percent from the floor and 50.0-percent from 3-point range with 22 assists on 33 made field goals.

It felt like one of the most complete offensive performances from Duke this season, which was still without the services of sophomore point guard Tyrese Proctor (ankle).

Proctor suffered the ankle injury in the opening minute of the Blue Devils' loss against Georgia Tech on December 2 and was held out of Saturday's victory over Charlotte, however, he was on the bench without crutches on Tuesday night.

No. 21 Duke (7-3) will have another extended break until it travels to New York City to face No. 6 Baylor (9-0) on Wednesday, December 20 inside Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)