DURHAM, N.C. — Canadian freshman Toby Fournier reached double figures for the fourth time in five games after finishing with a career-high 25 points to lead No. 14 Duke to a 79-47 win over Belmont on Thursday night.
Fournier was 10-of-15 shooting for the Blue Devils (5-1), who finished at 55 per cent (32 of 58). Oluchi Okananwa added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Ashlon Jackson 14 points.
Carmyn Harrison scored 13 points for the Bruins (2-3) on 6-of-9 shooting, although Belmont finished at 33 per cent (20 of 60).
Duke had a 46-24 rebound advantaging with Jordan Wood grabbing 13 and Reigan Richardson nine, both career bests. That led to a 19-2 difference in second-chance points and a 46-20 advantage on points in the paint. The 6-foot-2 Fournier, who is from Toronto, also had six rebounds and three blocks.
Duke had 24 turnovers to 20 for Belmont, which lost to the Blue Devils 72-58 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, their only other meeting.
Fournier had 16 points and Jackson 12 at the half, on a combined 12-of-17 shooting, as the Blue Devils raced to a 40-17 lead. While Duke was shooting 18 of 34 (53 per cent), the Bruins were at 28 per cent.
The Blue Devils closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run, six from Fournier and four from Jackson, to lead 17-9. They also scored the first points points to start the second quarter and after Jailyn Banks scored six points for Belmont, Duke reeled off 17-straight points, 10 from Fournier, for the 23-point lead at the break.
Duke is headed to Nevada for the Ball Dawgs Classic where they will face No. 10 Kansas State on Monday.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.