Ryan Young’s 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench gave No. 17 Duke a huge boost as the Blue Devils defeated visiting Florida State 86-67 on Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.
Jaylen Blakes checked in with 17 points in his first career start and reserve Dariq Whitehead poured in 16 points in an outing that kept Duke perfect in eight home games.
The Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) avoided back-to-back losses and shot 50.9 percent from the field.
Caleb Mills and Matthew Cleveland each scored 18 points, and Darin Green Jr. ‘s 16 points paced Florida State (4-11, 2-2), which was trying to produce back-to-back ACC victories.
The Seminoles were within 11 points with less than nine minutes to play before another big splurge by the Blue Devils broke the game completely open.
Florida State shot 42.9 percent from the floor, so that wasn’t good enough despite making 21 of 26 free throws. Duke hurt the Seminoles by pulling in 10 offensive rebounds.
Duke held a 42-25 halftime lead, receiving a big boost by a 16-6 edge in points in the paint.
Blakes racked up 11 points in the first 12 minutes as Duke went up 24-13. Young had 12 points and six rebounds in 10 1/2 minutes of playing time in the first half.
Young continued to make a habit of being disruptive in the low post, and his production helped the Blue Devils overcome some shooting woes.
Blakes, a sophomore guard, replaced freshman Tyrese Proctor, who had been a starter in every previous game, in Duke’s starting lineup.
Duke hadn’t played since a Dec. 20 loss at Wake Forest.
For Florida State, which beat Notre Dame 73-72 on Dec. 21, it was the first opportunity for coach Leonard Hamilton to reach 600 career victories in his 35th season overall.
Florida State hasn’t won in Durham in more than 10 years.
–Field Level Media