DURHAM — Tyrese Proctor has joined the scoring parade as No. 9 Duke keeps unveiling sources of high-powered offense.
The sophomore guard scored a career-high 22 and the Blue Devils had several big second half runs to bury La Salle in a 95-66 win Tuesday night.
“My shots started falling early,” Proctor said. “I realized I could get downhill more. I just tried to use that to my advantage.”
Kyle Filipowski added 17 points, reserve Sean Stewart scored 16 to go with 10 rebounds, and Mark Mitchell had 12 for Duke (4-1), which won for the third time in eight nights.
“I thought we played a well-rounded game,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “It’s probably the closest we’ve had to a 40-minute game so far.”
Anwar Gill scored 17 points and Jhamir Brickus posted 13 points for La Salle (4-1), which had been off to a 4-0 start for the first time in nine years. The Explorers shot 41.4% from the field in their first road game of the season.
La Salle’s Fran Dunphy, in his 32nd season as a Division I head coach, was bidding for his 600th career victory. He’s 599-345.
Proctor also had seven rebounds and four assists without a turnover in nearly 30 minutes.
“I love his pace he’s playing at,” Scheyer said. “He’s making simple plays and then naturally, because he’s really talented, he’s making plays you can’t teach.”
Filipowski, who had only three points in the first half and seemed out of sorts, racked up Duke’s first eight points of the second half as the Blue Devils surged to a 47-31 advantage.
“I think he was just in his head a little bit first half,” Proctor said of Filipowski. “But we all had his back in the locker room, and he just played how he normally plays second half.”
The Explorers managed just 6-for-24 shooting on 3-pointers, but defense seemed to be a larger concern for Dunphy.
“Our defense needs to get better,” he said. “They pushed like crazy. They took great advantage of that.”
Duke had an early 11-2 lead before the Explorers pulled within 19-18. La Salle had a stretch of almost four minutes without a field goal and the Blue Devils held 10-point leads several times before a 39-29 halftime edge.
“Obviously, we would have liked it to be more competitive,” Dunphy said. “I thought our first half was OK.”
Duke hosts Southern Indiana on Friday.
East Carolina 85, Kennesaw State 84
GREENVILLE — Bobby Pettiford Jr. knocked down a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer to give East Carolina an 85-84 victory over Kennesaw State on Tuesday night.
Pettiford dribbled the floor and then heaved the game-winner from near the logo. RJ Felton scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pirates (4-2). Pettiford scored 18 points, shooting 6 for 10 (4 for 7 from 3-point range). Ezra Ausar had 14 points.
Terrell Burden led the Owls (4-2) in scoring, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Simeon Cottle added 16 points, four assists and five steals for Kennesaw State. Jamel King also put up 14 points.
Appalachian State 86, UNC Wilmington 56
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Tre’Von Spillers had 15 points in Appalachian State’s 86-56 win over UNC Wilmington on Tuesday in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Spillers added seven rebounds for the Mountaineers (2-2). Donovan Gregory scored 14 points while finishing 6 of 8 from the floor, and he added seven rebounds and five assists. Myles Tate finished with 14 points.
Trazarien White led the Seahawks (4-1) in scoring, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds. UNC Wilmington also got 12 points from KJ Jenkins. In addition, Nolan Hodge had eight points.
Davidson 69, Boston University 45
DAVIDSON — Connor Kochera had 23 points in Davidson’s 69-45 win against Boston University on Tuesday night.
Kochera was 10-of-12 shooting (2 for 3 from 3-point range) for the Wildcats (3-2). Reed Bailey added 12 points and had eight rebounds. Grant Huffman finished with 10 points.
The Terriers (1-4) were led by Matai Baptiste, who recorded 10 points.
High Point 74, Illinois State 72
ESTERO, Fla. — Abdoulaye Thiam scored 22 points as High Point beat Illinois State 74-72 on Tuesday night.
Thiam shot 7 for 14 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) for the Panthers (3-2). Trae Benham added 12 points and also had 10 rebounds. Duke Miles had 11 points.
The Redbirds (3-2) were led in scoring by Darius Burford, who finished with 17 points. Johnny Kinziger added 14 points for Illinois State. In addition, Malachi Poindexter finished with 12 points.
Idaho State 69, Campbell 55
BUIES CREEK — Kolton Mitchell had 18 points in Idaho State’s 69-55 victory over Campbell on Tuesday night.
Mitchell added five rebounds for the Bengals (3-3). Kiree Huie scored 14 points and added seven rebounds and three steals. Brayden Parker was 4 of 5 shooting and 3 of 3 from the free throw line to finish with 12 points.
Laurynas Vaistaras led the way for the Fighting Camels (1-4) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Campbell also got nine points and four assists from Gediminas Mokseckas.
The Citadel 67, North Carolina Central 61
BUIES CREEK — AJ Smith’s 21 points helped Citadel defeat North Carolina Central 67-61 on Tuesday night.
Smith also contributed five rebounds for the Bulldogs (3-3). Elijah Morgan added 16 points with five rebounds. Christian Moore finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Fred Cleveland Jr. led the Eagles (3-4) in scoring, finishing with 17 points. North Carolina Central also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Po’Boigh King. In addition, Ja’Darius Harris had 14 points.
