Kyle Filipowski scored from the inside and perimeter on his way to 18 points as No. 8 Duke withstood Bellarmine’s patient attack to win 74-57 on Monday night in Durham, N.C.
Jacob Grandison added 16 points off the bench and Jeremy Roach had 10 points as Duke demonstrated plenty of patience. The Blue Devils (4-1) didn’t pull away until the final few minutes.
The Blue Devils shot 14-for-35 on 3-pointers, with five players connecting from deep at least two times.
Curt Hopf and Peter Suder both scored 11 points for Bellarmine (2-3), which beat Louisville earlier in the season. Juston Betz had nine points, but the Knights shot 42.6 percent from the field.
Duke had six players hit at least one 3-point basket, led by Grandison, who 4-for-7.
Filipowski led Duke’s rebounding effort with eight boards as the Blue Devils finished with a 37-25 rebounding edge.
The Knights hung around by piecing together enough offense with a slow-and-steady style that tended to use up most of the shot clock on many possessions. They were within 57-45 with about 12 minutes to play.
Jaylen Blakes, who scored eight points off the bench, hit a 3-pointer and Grandison scored off a drive to keep the Blue Devils in control.
Duke put together an 11-0 run and led by as many as 16 points in the first half. But Betz’s 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer made it 41-33. The Knights trimmed the deficit in half in the last seven minutes before halftime.
Of Duke’s 13 first-half field goals, eight were 3-point baskets. Those came from five different players. Filipowski had 10 points at the break, though eight Blue Devils scored in the half.
Both teams hit at a similar clip from the field through the first 20 minutes, with Duke at 52 percent and Bellarmine at 51.9 percent.
Duke is 4-0 at home, winning in their home gym twice since last week’s loss to undefeated Kansas in Indianapolis.
–Field Level Media