Cooper Flagg leads way as Duke blow out North Carolina in rivalry game | College basketball

Freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel made memorable debuts in the Tobacco Road rivalry as No 2 Duke used a dominant first half to secure an 87-70 win over visiting North Carolina on Saturday night in Durham, North Carolina.

Flagg racked up 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals for Duke (19-2, 11-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play), who extended the longest active winning streak in the country to 15 games. Meanwhile, Knueppel scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and added five rebounds and five assists.

Tyrese Proctor had 17 points and Sion James 13 for the Blue Devils, who forced nine of North Carolina’s 14 total turnovers in the first half and led by as many as 27 points before intermission.

RJ Davis and Drake Powell each scored 12 points and Seth Trimble netted 10 for North Carolina (13-10, 6-5), who lost for the fourth time in five outings. Duke snapped a two-game losing streak in the series.

Flagg scored or assisted on Duke’s first 18 points of the game. He sank two three-pointers and converted a three-point play while also assisting on a pair of James dunks, plus a triple and a dunk by Proctor.

When Knueppel hit a three and another jumper 31 seconds apart, it capped a 16-0 Duke run for a 23-6 lead less than seven minutes into the contest.

Elliot Cadeau’s three-pointer pulled North Carolina within 16 points before Duke’s defense went back to work. The Blue Devils made the Tar Heels miss their next nine attempts from the floor, two of them swatted away by Flagg. Duke stitched together an 11-point run of mostly free throws for an overwhelming 40-13 lead with 5:16 left in the half.

Flagg’s fadeaway jumper at the first-half buzzer made it 47-25 Blue Devils and gave the freshman 13 points in the half to go with four boards, five assists and two steals.

Duke made its first six shots from the floor of the second half. Knueppel put up 11 quick points as the Blue Devils stretched their lead to 62-34 with 15:49 to play.

Ian Jackson converted a four-point play to give the Tar Heels a brief jolt. But when Flagg knocked down his third three-pointer of the game, it handed Duke their first 30-point advantage of the night at 74-44 with 9:53 still on the clock.

North Carolina cut a 32-point deficit to 16 in the final stages, as Powell gave the team a late boost with all 12 of his points coming in the final 12 minutes.