Filipowski continues to shine as Duke improves to 4-1

DURHAM, NC — The No. 8 ranked Duke Blue Devils defeated the Bellarmine Knights 74-57 late on Monday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium to improve to 4-1 on the season.

The Blue Devils lived beyond the arc tonight, draining 14 three-pointers on 40 percent shooting from downtown on the night. Freshman forward Kyle Fillipowski led the way for Duke scoring 18 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three and grabbing eight rebounds.

Before the game, Filipowski was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week. Tonight marks Filipowski’s fifth consecutive game scoring in double digits as the freshman is averaging 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds through five games so far.

Duke got out on the break early on, opening up looks from beyond the arc for Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor which they converted on. The Blue Devils hit eight of their 14 threes in the first half tonight, putting pressure on the Bellarmine defense in both half-court and transition.

Despite their success on offense, the Blue Devils struggled to get stops in the half-court set on the other end. Bellarmine shot over 50% from the field in the first half as Juston Betz and Peter Suder led the way for the Knights, scoring 18 of Bellarmine’s 33 first-half points. Duke led the Knights by just eight heading into the halftime break.

The Blue Devils started the second half trading buckets with Bellarmine before senior forward Jacob Grandison came alive. The graduate transfer put in 16 points on the night, shooting 4-for-7 from behind the three-point line. Grandison is averaging eight points and three rebounds off the bench through five games.

“I just get in and do whatever it is I can for the squad so we can come away with the win. I think everyone has that same mentality,” Grandison told me after the game. “Naturally I’m a leader, so I definitely feel my presence helps us at times but everyone here has leadership qualities as well that bode well for our success.”

The Duke defense turned it on in the second half as there was nearly a six-minute stretch where the Knights shot just 1-for-13 from the field. In the end, the Blue Devils’ backcourt defense turned it on as Luder and Betz combined for just one field goal in the second half.

Duke returns to action on Thanksgiving this Thursday in Portland as they take on Oregon State in the Phil Knight Invitational at 3 p.m. on ESPN.