Joey Baker Contributes 22 As Duke Beats Wofford Without The Services Of Tre Jones
Duke who is ranked fourth in the AP Top 25 poll hadn’t played an opponent in thirteen days and they were without their starting point guard and sophomore Tre Jones because of a foot injury against Wofford who had played Duke’s tobacco road rival North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday so someone needed to step up. Who was that someone? Joey Baker who like Tre Jones is a sophomore.
How did he step up?
- Joey Baker had career highs of 22 points and five 3-pointers to help fourth-ranked Duke beat Wofford 86-57 on Thursday night. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-bakers-career-night-leads-no-4-duke-past-wofford-86-57.aspx
The 6-foot-7 sophomore hit all of his 3s after halftime while the hot-shooting Blue Devils stretched their lead. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-bakers-career-night-leads-no-4-duke-past-wofford-86-57.aspx
As for other players who contributed for Duke,
. Freshman Vernon Carey Jr. added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Duke (10-1), which shot 54% in its return from a nearly two-week pause in the schedule. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-bakers-career-night-leads-no-4-duke-past-wofford-86-57.aspx
The 6-10 Carey scored over defenders and off the glass, and Baker got hot after a five-point first half. Baker's night was highlighted by two 3-pointers to give Duke a 52-30 lead with 14:17 left that led the Terriers to call a timeout in a game that had already gotten away. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-bakers-career-night-leads-no-4-duke-past-wofford-86-57.aspx
Wofford may have won days earlier in Chapel Hill at Duke’s tobacco road rival North Carolina who was without starting point guard Cole Anthony who is out 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee “according tohttps://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2019/12/17/north-carolinas-cole-anthony-knee-injury-needed-surgery/ but they were denied at Duke who was also without their point guard Tre Jones who sat out with a foot injury. “according to https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2852426-dukes-tre-jones-out-vs-wofford-with-minor-foot-injury
The Wofford men's basketball team visited No. 4 Duke on Thursday night, falling to the Blue Devils 86-57 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-wofford-falls-at-no-4-duke.aspx
The Terriers shot it well from behind-the-arc, going 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) while shooting 35.5 percent from the floor overall. Wofford had just five free-throw attempts compared to Duke's 18, getting 32 points from its bench. The Blue Devils shot 54.2 percent from the floor, and 40 percent from 3-point range, scoring 47 points in the second half. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-wofford-falls-at-no-4-duke.aspx
Tray Hollowell tied his career-high with 17 points in the game, going 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Storm Murphy totaled eight points on the night, while Chevez Goodwin scored six and grabbed eight rebounds in 17 minutes of play. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-wofford-falls-at-no-4-duke.aspx
he sides traded buckets to start, with Stumpe knocking down a three to put Wofford ahead by four. Goodwin scored a hook shot down low and Jones finished at the rim to keep the Terriers in front by one (11-10). After Duke jumped ahead, Donovan Theme-Love found Jones and Hollowell scored a layup to keep Wofford within one. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-wofford-falls-at-no-4-duke.aspx
"I love our team," McAuley said. "Playing on this stage against these type of players, if we can bottle up those first eight minutes and expand on it moving forward, I'll be happy." “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-wofford-falls-at-no-4-duke.aspx
The Blue Devils responded with a 10-0 run, before Goodwin scored a tip-in to break the drought at the 7:11 mark. Isaiah Bigelow knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to eight with just over five to play in the first, but Duke scored 11 of the next 14 points to take a 39-23 lead, before Hollowell hit a buzzer-beating three to send the teams into the break. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-wofford-falls-at-no-4-duke.aspx
Duke now has another break and will return to action on December 28th when they tip-off against Brown at 11:30am from Cameron Indoor Stadium.