Led by Mark Williams, Duke beats up on NC State as Blue Devils roll to 88-73 win
The void Manny Bates’ season-ending shoulder injury left in the middle of N.C. State’s defense was clearly display Saturday when Duke big man Mark Williams ably took advantage.
A 7-1 sophomore center, Williams scored 19 points while grabbing 11 rebounds with eight blocked shots leading the No. 8 Blue Devils to a 88-73 win over the Wolfpack in ACC basketball at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The 6-11 Bates, a redshirt junior, led the ACC in blocked shots the last two seasons and was considered the league’s top defensive big man. The dislocated shoulder he suffered in November removed a weapon the Wolfpack certainly needed on Saturday.
Williams production was part of a stellar day of offense for Duke (14-2, 4-1 ACC). The Blue Devils shot a season-best 58.3% and did the majority of their scoring close to the basket. Duke finished with 58 points in the paint, with Williams providing the bulk of them.
Paolo Banchero, Duke’s 6-10 freshman forward, scored 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds for the Blue Devils. Theo John, Duke’s 6-9 reserve center, scored a season-best 10 points.
Freshman guard Trevor Keels also turned in a productive day with 12 points, nine assists and five steals for Duke. Junior Wendell Moore’s 15 points gave Duke four starters in double-figures.
Partially because of Williams swatting away so many shots to help Duke post a season-best 10 blocked shots, N.C. State shot just 41.3% overall. The Wolfpack managed to hit only 5 of 19 3-pointers.
Terquavion Smith led N.C. State (9-9, 2-5 ACC) with 19 points while Dereon Seabron added 16 points.
N.C. State shot a healthy 47% in the first half but was slowed by 2 of 10 3-point shooting. The Wolfpack built two early seven-point leads at 9-2 and 15-8 before Duke got its offense rolling. A 9-0 run, with Keels tipping in a Griffin miss and later hitting a pull-up jumper, put the Blue Devils on top.
N.C. State took its last lead of the half when Seabron drove basket Duke guard Jeremy Roach for a layup that gave the Wolfpack a 21-20 lead.
But Duke responded with six points in a row on a Griffin 3-pointer, Joey Baker free throw and Williams’ basket off a Baker lob pass.
N.C. State climbed back within four points twice after that, including 38-34 with 2:26 left on Smith basket. But Duke closed the half on a 7-2 run. Keels hit another 3-pointer, Moore scored a layup in transition and Banchero added a slam dunk off a Roach pass to give Duke a 45-36 halftime lead.
The Blue Devils pushed their lead as large as 19 points in the second half, leading 66-47 after a Williams-fueled flurry after halftime.
