Duke rolls over Robert Morris
Quinn Cook scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half as the top-seeded Blue Devils downed the Colonials 85-56 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Charlotte, N.C.
Jahlil Okafor went 9-of-11 from the field and finished with 21 points for Duke (30-4), which shot 63 percent from the field and will face eighth-seeded San Diego State or No. 9 seed St. John’s in the third round on Sunday. Tyus Jones chipped in 10 points and seven assists, Justise Winslow contributed 11 rebounds and a season-high tying seven assists and Marshall Plumlee posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
Rodney Pryor tallied 17 of his 23 points in the second half for 16th-seeded Robert Morris (20-15), which notched its first tournament victory since 1983 in Wednesday’s first-round win over North Florida. Freshman Marcquise Reed poured in 22 points to round out the Colonials’ double-digit scorers.
Duke hit its first seven shots - including three of Cook’s four first-half 3-pointers - to fuel an 11-0 burst to help the Blue Devils build a nine-point edge less than five minutes into the contest. Jones bookended a 10-0 run with a pair of buckets shortly after the first media timeout as the lead quickly ballooned to 26-9 midway through the first half.
Robert Morris, which fell behind by as many as 21 points in the first half, chopped a 20-point deficit in half with 15 minutes remaining over a span of two minutes as Pryor buried a pair of triples and added a layup to force a Duke timeout. Winslow responded with five points, two rebounds and an assist over a three-minute span during a 12-0 run moments later that put the Colonials away as the Blue Devils pushed their advantage out to 31 late.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blue Devils became the third Division I program to amass 100 NCAA Tournament wins. … Duke, which improved to 46-9 as a No. 1 seed, shot over 60 percent for the fifth time this season. … Cook finished with five assists, allowing him to become the seventh player in school history to amass 1,500 points and 500 assists in his career.
