Freshman Caleb Foster scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half as No. 9 Duke withstood several rallies from No. 18 Michigan State for a 74-65 victory on Tuesday as part of the Champions Classic in Chicago.
Foster made multiple clutch shots on 4-for-5 shooting on 3-pointers after playing a limited role in Duke’s Friday night loss to then-No. 12 Arizona.
The Blue Devils (2-1) had enough offense in this game, largely with Foster accounting for more than half of the team’s 3-point baskets. Kyle Filipowski scored 15 points, and Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor contributed 13 points apiece.
Ryan Young added eight points off the Duke bench to join Foster for the big boost from the reserves.
Tyson Walker racked up 22 points for Michigan State (1-2), which lost its opener at home against James Madison on Nov. 6. Malik Hall had 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, and Jaden Akins posted 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans went 6-for-19 on 3-point attempts, an upgrade from the first two games of the season when they hit a combined 2 of 31, but it wasn’t enough. They shot 41.3 percent overall from the field vs. the Blue Devils.
Duke held a 24-7 advantage in points on made free throws.
Hall picked up his fourth foul with 12:38 left. Shortly after, Duke held a 47-35 lead.
However, less than four minutes later, Walker’s step-back 3-pointer cut the gap to 51-48.
Filipowski’s three-point play at the 5:50 mark extended Duke’s edge to 58-52. Foster subsequently sank two 3-pointers, the second with just less than two minutes to play to make it 68-56.
The Blue Devils committed 10 of their 13 turnovers in the first half.
The teams combined to make only two of the first 13 field-goal attempts in the game. Michigan State led for most of the first half, but Duke’s late burst created a 31-20 halftime lead.
Mitchell was Duke’s top first-half scorer with nine points, most coming on 7-for-7 free-throw shooting. Michigan State didn’t connect on a free throw until 2:21 into the second half.
–Field Level Media