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DURHAM, N.C. -- The defending Division II National Champion Mules got off to a fast start, but eventually fell to Division I fourth-ranked Duke 87-47 in exhibition action on Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Mules jumped out to a 13-7 lead five minutes in to the game.
The Mules jumped out to the early lead on a layup from
Sean O'Brien and a
Rakeem Dickerson jumper to grab a 6-3 lead.
Kyle Wolf drilled a three-point on the next possession and UCM led 9-3 with 15:02 to play in the half. A
Preston Brunz jumper at the 13:24 mark pushed the UCM lead back to six at 13-7, but that's when Duke took over.
The Blue Devils got a pair of free throws from freshman Grayson Allen to pull within four and start a 17-0 run that gave Duke a 24-13 lead with 5:57 left in the first half. A layup from Brennn Hughes and a three-pointer from
Jordan Epps stopped the run, for the time being. The half-ending run was 33-9 and gave Duke a 40-22 lead at the intermission.
The second half started in the same fashion that the first half ended, the Blue Devils scored the first 10 points out of the break to lead 50-22 with 14:04 to play in the game. Hughes scored the first points of the half for UCM on a layup with 13:51 remaining, but Duke went on a 28-13 run to open a 78-37 lead with just over 5:00 left in regulation. The Blue Devils went on to win the game by 40, 87-47.
The Mules were led by O'Brien's 12 points and four rebounds off the bench. Dickerson had eight points in his UCM debut and Hughes added six. Central Missouri shot 37 percent from the field, 21-of-56, including 3-of-10 from behind the three-point line. The Mules were 2-of-3 at the foul line. UCM pulled down 31 rebounds in the game and had 13 assists to 23 turnovers.
Duke had four players in double figures, led by Justise Winslow's game-high 17 points. Preseason National Player of the Year Jahlil Okafor had 15 points and game-high nine rebounds. The Blue Devils shot 50 percent from the floor, 29-of-58, and made 7-of-25 from beyond the arc for 28 percent. Duke was 22-of-31 at the foul line for 71 percent.
The Blue Devils out-rebounded the Mules 39-31 and had 17 assists to 13 turnovers. They came up with 11 steals and six blocks in the game.
The Mules open the season next Friday night against 14th-ranked Minnesota State at the Sanford Pentagon Showcase in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon. UCM will finish up the showcast on Saturday agaist Sioux Falls at 2 p.m. The game on Friday can be heard on 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com, while Saturday's game will be carried on 1450 KOKO and the internet.
