DURHAM — Over and over, No. 8 Duke went outside at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Kyle Filipowski scored 18 points to lead Duke in scoring for the fourth time this season in a hard-earned 74-57 win over Bellarmine on Monday night.
More than half of Duke’s points came on 3-pointers.
“We get up a lot of those shots here in Cameron,” guard Jeremy Roach said. “I think it’s a normal thing. We knew their defense was going to cover the paint, so we wanted to be shot ready.”
The Blue Devils (4-1) had five players with at least two 3-pointers as part of a 14 for 35 team effort from beyond the arc.
Jacob Grandison scored 16 points off the bench on 4-for-6 shooting on 3s and Roach provided 10 points for the Blue Devils. Filipowski shot 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.
“When you take the right shots, they’re going to go in,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “We had great quality in our shot selection.”
Duke’s 3-point shooting didn’t surprise Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport, who said the Blue Devils’ 15-2 edge in second-chance point was equally as troubling.
“You pick your poison,” he said. “Give them credit, they made the shots.”
Curt Hopf and Juston Betz both scored 11 points for Bellarmine (2-3), which was within 12 points with about eight minutes to play.
“We moved forward the last two hours,” Davenport said. “My perspective (is) the moment we started our pregame shooting until the horn sounded was a great example of what our program is about. We competed. We played for each other.”
Duke has won twice at home since last week’s four-point setback to unbeaten Kansas in Indianapolis.
The Blue Devils shot 52% from the field in the first half and led 41-33, with the lead trimmed in half in the final seven minutes after being up by 16.
Duke hit six 3s among its first nine field goals on the way to a 25-12 lead. By then, the Blue Devils understood the ideal approach to identifying good shots.
“One less dribble and find that (teammate),” guard Tyrese Proctor said.
Five Blue Devils hit 3s across the first eight minutes of the second half.
Duke had 18 assists on its 25 field goals and a season-low eight turnovers.
“I thought we had some really unselfish plays sharing the ball,” Scheyer said. “It’s going to be the recipe for us going forward.”
The Blue Devils play Oregon State in Phil Knight Invitational (in Portland, Oregon) on Thursday.
UNC Wilmington 94, Mount Olive 47
WILMINGTON — Nick Farrar scored 18 points as UNC Wilmington beat Division II-Mount Olive 94-47 on Monday night.
Farrar also contributed eight rebounds for the Seahawks (2-3). Nolan Hodge scored 15 points while going 7 of 13 (1 for 4 from distance), and added 10 rebounds. Jamarii Thomas recorded 12 points and finished 5 of 7 from the field.
Colin Radcliffe led the Trojans (0-1) in scoring, finishing with 12 points. Ryan Roberts added 11 points for Mount Olive. Jikari Johnson also put up 10 points.
UNC Wilmington hosts Missouri State in its next matchup on Friday.
High Point 68, Central Michigan 67
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — Jaden House scored 26 points as High Point beat Central Michigan 68-67 on Monday in the SoCal challenge.
House also added five rebounds for the Panthers (4-1). Abdoulaye Thiam scored 11 points and added six rebounds. Zach Austin scored 10 points.
The Chippewas (1-3) were led in scoring by Brian Taylor, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Central Michigan also got 13 points from Max Majerle. Jesse Zarzuela also finished with 13 points.
High Point will play Tennessee State in the Sand Division championship on Tuesday.
Indiana State 79, East Carolina 75
ESTERO, Fla. — Courvoisier McCauley had 16 points in Indiana State’s 79-75 win over East Carolina on Monday night.
McCauley added seven rebounds for the Sycamores (4-0). Xavier Bledson scored 16 points while going 3 of 5 from the floor, including 2 for 4 from distance, and 8 for 10 from the line. Cooper Neese recorded 12 points and was 4-of-9 shooting, including 2 for 7 from distance.
Javon Small led the way for the Pirates (3-1) with 27 points, six rebounds and two steals. Kalib LaCount added 13 points, and Brandon Johnson had 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
