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Blue Devils roll past Aztecs

Freshman starters combine for 63 points in first-round victory

Duke’s Tre Jones goes up for a layup during the first half of the Blue Devils’ 90-64 win over San Diego State on Monday in a Maui Jim Maui Invitational first-round game at Lahaina Civic Center. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

LAHAINA — It’s quite safe to say the Duke basketball team deserves its No. 1 ranking.

The Blue Devils rolled to an impressive 90-64 win over San Diego State in the first round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on Monday.

Duke’s four freshmen starters — RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, Zion Williamson and Tre Jones — combined to score 63 points, grab 13 rebounds and dish out 10 assists.

“In the first half, one, just adjusting to the environment that they’re playing in,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the adjustment his freshmen faced in the LCC. “It was really hot in there for both teams, but it’s tough to simulate that.”

Duke, which plays No. 8 Auburn in the semifinals today, ended the first half on a 7-0 run in the final 70 seconds to open a 49-32 lead.

Duke’s Zion Williamson winds up for a windmill dunk in the second half Monday.

“I thought the end of half was crucial. We got a perfect two for one,” Krzyzewski said. “We had six points and ended it well. And then we started the second half poorly, then all of a sudden we rebounded and our transition game got going and we kind of exploded.

“But it was a good win for us, we beat a good team, and on to the second game.”

The Blue Devils led 49-32 at halftime after Reddish nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Barrett scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half.

Jones sank a 3 in transition early in the second half to push the lead to 54-36 and moments later Barrett finished an acrobatic 3-point play to make it 57-36 with 18 minutes to play.

Williamson showed his athleticism on the next trip down the floor when he hung in the air awaiting a pass from Reddish and then banked the ball home without coming down.

A minute and a half later, Reddish weaved through a crowded lane for a layup, and on the next possession, he rushed to the hoop again to push the lead to 65-44.

The biggest cheer of the game came a few moments later when Williamson tipped a pass up the floor to himself — one of his five steals in the game — and he threw down a left-handed windmill dunk.

The crowd erupted with a deafening roar after anticipating the highlight for a few seconds.

“You don’t know what to think,” Reddish said of Williamson’s dunk. “It’s crazy. Yeah, he’s different and it’s really fun to watch.”

Devin Watson led San Diego State with 15 points. The Aztecs trailed just 29-21 with 6:34 to go in the first half.

Duke shot 9-of-18 from beyond the 3-point line in the first half.

“First of all, I thought our Aztecs competed at a high level in the first half,” SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said. “A lot of the 3s that we gave up were scouting-report 3s. I told them that. That was a coach’s decision. We tried to pack the paint against Duke, tried to play that top nail help side, tried to collapse and make them kick and shoot perimeter 3s and to their credit they made them. … It was Duke being Duke.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

DUKE (4-0)

Barrett 5-14 7-9 20, Reddish 6-10 2-3 16, Williamson 5-11 2-3 13, Bolden 1-1 2-4 4, Jones 6-7 0-3 14, Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, DeLaurier 0-1 2-2 2, White 3-5 4-4 12, Vrankovic 0-0 2-4 2, O’Connell 2-3 0-0 4, Buckmire 0-0 0-0 0, Besser 0-0 0-0 0, Goldwire 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 29-57 22-34 90.

SAN DIEGO ST. (2-1)

Mitchell 3-9 5-6 11, McDaniels 3-9 5-7 11, Hemsley 4-11 4-4 12, Schakel 1-5 2-2 5, Watson 5-8 2-2 15, Narain 0-1 0-2 0, J.Mensah 0-2 0-0 0, Chang 0-0 0-0 0, Arop 1-3 0-0 2, N.Mensah 0-3 0-0 0, Sohikish 0-0 0-0 0, Seiko 2-2 2-4 8. Totals 19-53 20-27 64.

Halftime–Duke 49-32. 3-Point Goals–Duke 10-25 (Barrett 3-6, Jones 2-2, White 2-4, Reddish 2-5, Williamson 1-3, O’Connell 0-1, Robinson 0-1, DeLaurier 0-1, Goldwire 0-2), San Diego St. 6-21 (Watson 3-6, Seiko 2-2, Schakel 1-4, Arop 0-1, Hemsley 0-4, Mitchell 0-4). Fouled Out–DeLaurier. Rebounds–Duke 41 (White 8), San Diego St. 28 (McDaniels 5). Assists–Duke 12 (Barrett 5), San Diego St. 8 (Watson, McDaniels 3). Total Fouls–Duke 25, San Diego St. 23. A–2,400 (2,400).

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