DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 7 Duke men’s basketball team tipped off the 2024-25 season with a 96-62 defeat of Maine inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday, Nov. 4.
Six different Blue Devils finished with at least 10 points, paced by Kon Knueppel’s22, and Cooper Flaggbecame the first Duke player to register at least 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in a freshman debut.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke’s freshman duo of Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluachcombined for Duke’s first two buckets, as each found their way to the rim for layups in the first two minutes. The visitors knotted the score, 6-6, but Duke responded with back-to-back layups from Caleb Foster and Mason Gillisto regain the lead.
Knueppel drilled the first three-pointer of Duke’s season, giving the freshman nine early points. Two free throws by Cooper Flaggpushed the Blue Devils’ advantage to double-digits for the first time, 19-9. A four-point-play by Knueppel gave the Milwaukee, Wis., native 13 early points.
A corner three-pointer from Mason Gillis made it a 14-point burst by Duke and triggered a Maine timeout with 12:24 on the clock and the Blue Devils ahead by 17, 26-9. The Black Bears responded with nine straight points out of the break, drawing within eight, 26-18, halfway through the opening 20 minutes of action.
The two teams traded baskets for much of the remainder of the first half, with Flagg highlighting the final minutes of action with a high-flying dunk. Duke remained up by double-digits, 44-33, at the break and was led by Knueppel’s 15 first-half points.
A three-pointer by Proctor opened the scoring in the second half for Duke. Flagg and Maluach combined for the next six points, as the Blue Devils went up by 14, 53-39. Another three-pointer, this time from Knueppel, extended the lead and forced a Maine timeout.
Consecutive layups through contact by Sion Jamesgave the Tulane transfer seven points for the game and Duke an 11-0 scoring run that spanned just over three minutes.
Knueppel eclipsed 20 points with a layup at the 9:47 mark of the second half and a quick 10-2 scoring burst by the Blue Devils edged the hosts’ lead to 24, 72-48, with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest.
Duke remained ahead, 85-56, at the final media timeout of the game. The Blue Devils’ defense held Maine to just one made field goal over the final 10:59 to secure the 96-62 victory.
NOTES
The Blue Devils outscored Maine 52-29 in the second half, holding the Black Bears to one field goal in final 10:59 of the contest.
Duke outrebounded the visitors 40-27 overall and dominated the glass in the second half with a 24-9 rebounding advantage.
Six Blue Devils scored in double figures in Monday night’s victory, marking the first time Duke has had six double-digit scorers since Feb. 19, 2022, versus Florida State.
Duke’s defense limited Maine to just four assists on 21 baskets, while forcing 14 Black Bear turnovers.
Duke is now 93-27 in season-openers and has won 25 straight to open the season.
The Blue Devils have won 43 consecutive home-openers.
Duke has won both meetings against Maine. The first matchup was a 94-55 Blue Devil victory in Durham on Dec. 3, 2016.
Kon Knueppel scored a game-high 22 points, including 15 in the first 16 minutes. The freshman shot 8-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-8 from long range, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
Cooper Flagg collected 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals to become the first freshman in Duke history to have at least 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in their debut.
Khaman Maluach registered six points, six boards and three blocked shots in his collegiate debut.
Maliq Brown grabbed seven rebounds to match Flagg for the game-high on the boards, while also distributing four assists.
QUOTES
“It was a good first step. I thought there was a lot to clean up and plenty to get better at, but I like the effort. I thought the initial eight minutes was really strong. And then, give Maine credit because Chris[Markwood] does a terrific job with those guys. Very disciplined. They make you work late into the shot clock. So, the sustained effort, you have to have defending and then come back and run a good offense. I didn’t think we did that consistently, but there are some really good things. For Cooper [Flagg] and Kon [Knueppel], in their first game, to play the way they did, I thought it was really good. And I thought Tyrese [Proctor], even though he didn’t get a lot of shots, just the way he made others better. He had five rebounds, defended, and made simple plays. I could go through each guy, but it’s a good first game for us. Lot to build on and lot to get better at.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
“It feels good to get a win in the first game and start 1-0 at home. I think we played all right. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement. We’ve got to get a little better defensively there in the first half. We were losing the rebounding battle at halftime, so that’s not good. We’ve got to clean that up, especially [against] a team that’s not as big as we are. We were a little choppy tonight with the ball. We could’ve gotten it moving a little better and playing like we did in the exhibition games. We’ve just got to keep playing together. It’s the first game – I think there’s going to be a couple of bumps in the games we play, so we’ve got to get those worked out. It was good to get it going in the second half.” – Duke freshman Kon Knueppel
“It’s just something that’s always been a part of my game, just trying to impact [the game] in a lot of different ways, whether it’s making the right play, finding an open teammate, rebounding, whatever it is. It’s something that our team, in general, has been priding ourselves on. Outside of the shots, only about six percent of the game is making or missing shots. So just priding ourselves around the 94 percent that doesn’t revolve around shots – rebounding, playing good defense, playing with energy, those types of thing that we can control. That’s been huge for us and a big focus for us, just trying to impact the game in any way possible.” – Duke freshman Cooper Flagg on how he impacts the game in multiple ways
UP NEXT
No. 7 Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m., hosting Army West Point. The game will broadcast on the ACC Network.
For more information on Duke Basketball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching “DukeMBB”.
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu.