Duke Rolls Past Concordia, 123-66

Thursday, November 3

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

123

Concordia

Duke Rolls Past Concordia, 123-66

11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- Fueled by a defensive effort that forced 30 turnovers, top-ranked Duke overwhelmed Canada's Concordia College by a 123-66 score in men's basketball exhibition action on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Seniors J.J. Redick and Lee Melchionni scored 21 points apiece to lead six Blue Devils in double figures while classmate Shelden Williams contributed 19 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Guided by Williams' 18 points, 11 rebounds and four rejections in the opening half, Duke built a 65-35 lead at intermission. Concordia struggled in the opening 20 minutes, committing 19 turnovers while sinking just 10-of-26 field goal attempts. After the Stingers took a 2-0 advantage, the Blue Devils took the lead for good on consecutive layups by Williams and DeMarcus Nelson less than one minute into the contest.

The Blue Devils opened the second half with a 24-10 run, and Melchionni's layup at the 13:18 mark pushed the advantage to 44 points at 89-44. Duke reached the century mark on a jumper by Jamal Boykin with 9:06 remaining. Duke finished the night with a 59-29 advantage on the backboards.

Redick was five-of-13 from the field with three three-pointers and canned all eight of his free throws while dishing out a game-high seven assists. Melchionni was eight-of-14 from the floor including a five-of-10 performance from beyond the three-point stripe. Ten of Williams' 16 boards came on the offensive end, and the All-America forward added four assists and one steal in 24 minutes of action. Nelson chipped in 15 points while Josh McRoberts and Sean Dockery added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Patrick Perrotte paced the Stingers with 17 points while Chris Blackwood and Damian Buckley scored 10 apiece.

Duke will play its second and final exhibition contest on Thursday, November 10 versus North Carolina Central University at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils open the year in the Preseason NIT with a first round home game against Boston University on Monday, November 14.