The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 77-67 in their first game in the Maui Invitational pushing their season record to 5-0 on the oyung season.  The Blue Devils will face the Michigan Wolverines who defeated a talented Memphis squad at 7:00 tomorrow evening in a game televised on ESPN.

It took the Blue Devils a while to get untracked but late in the first half they put together a mini run to take a six point lead into the locker room.  They would eventually get out to a large lead in the second half and held on for an eventual ten point win.

One of the keys to the game for the Blue Devils was their perimimeter defense which did not allow the Vols a single three point shot.  Tennessee depended on the three point shot coming into the game.  On ther other side of the ledger Duke made seven three pointers and were led by freshman Austin Rivers who hit two consecutive treys on his way to a career high 18 points.

Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly scored 17 points each and Andre Dawkins tallied ten giving the Blue Devils four double figure scorers.  Mason Plumlee fell just shy of a double-double with 8 points to go with a team high 13 rebounds.

There will be little time for rest as Duke will now face a Michigan team that took them down to the wire in last seasons NCAA Tournament.  We'll have more on the match up in the morning and look for a couple of interviews coming your way soon as well.
Team Notes:
• Duke started 5-0 for the fifth consecutive
season and the 20th time under head coach Mike
Krzyzewski.
• The Blue Devils improved to 13-0 all-time in Maui and
14-0 all-time in the Maui Invitational. Duke beat Belmont 77-76 in Cameron
Indoor Stadium on Nov. 11 of this season in a preliminary Maui Invitational
matchup.
• Duke won its 10th consecutive game against a non-conference
opponent on a neutral court.
• Duke had four players score in double
figures for the fourth time this season.
• For the second straight game,
Duke used the starting lineup of Seth
Curry, Andre
Dawkins, Ryan
Kelly, Mason
Plumlee and Austin
Rivers. Curry, Dawkins, Rivers and Mason
Plumlee have started every game this season.
• Duke trailed 33-31 with
2:18 remaining in the first half but scored eight straight points to close out
the half and take a 39-33 lead into halftime. Austin
Rivers made back-to-back three-pointers during that span, and Seth
Curry added a two-point jumper.
• Duke also got the first two points
of the second half to extend that run to 10 consecutive points. Duke has scored
10 or more consecutive points four times this season.
• The Blue Devils
held Tennessee without a three-pointer. Tennessee shot 0-of-8 from the
three-point line.
• Holding onto a slim four-point lead at 59-55 with 8:16
remaining, Duke went on a 15-6 run to reclaim a double-digit lead. Duke went
5-for-6 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line during that
run.

Player Notes:

Quinn
Cook
• Contributed two points, two rebounds, an assist, a
steal and his first career block.

Seth
Curry
• Started his 18th consecutive game and played over 30
minutes for the third straight outing.
• Scored in double figures for the
fifth straight game.
• Hit a three-pointer for the fifth straight game.

• Went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Picked up a pair of
steals, giving him multiple steals for the third straight game.
• Led the
team with four assists

Andre
Dawkins
• Started his fifth consecutive game.
• Hit a
three-pointer for the 11th consecutive game.
• Scored in double figures

Ryan
Kelly
• Made his second straight start.
• Scored in
double figures for the fourth time this season.
• Went 5-of-9 from the
field, raising his field goal percentage to .576.

Mason
Plumlee
• Started his 26tth consecutive game.
•
Registered double-digit rebounds for the third game and the second straight
contest. He ranks among the top five in the ACC with 10.6 rebounds per
game.
• Went 3-for-5 from the field, improving his field goal percentage
to a team-leading .639 (third highest in the ACC).
• With the score tied
at 45-45, pulled in four consecutive defensive rebounds to help Duke rebuild a
50-45 lead. Duke did not trail the rest of the game.

Miles
Plumlee
• Scored five points and added six rebounds off the
bench.
• Blocked a shot.

Austin
Rivers
• Made his fifth straight start and played 31
minutes.
• Scored a career-high 18 points and led the team.
• Scored
11 points in the first half while sinking two three-pointers.
• Both of
his first-half treys came in the final 2:18 during an 8-0 Duke
run.

Tyler
Thornton
• The first player off Duke’s bench