Cooper Flagg's late injury scare only tense moment as No. 7 Duke routs Maine in opener

DURHAM, N.C. — Though he didn’t lead Duke in scoring as the No. 7 Blue Devils rolled to an opening night win, Cooper Flagg’s college debut was productive and effective ... until three minutes and 28 seconds remained.

As Duke was finishing off a 96-62 win over Maine at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the 6-9 Flagg attempted a strong move for a layup across the lane. He missed and when he landed, the projected No. 1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft signaled for medical help from the bench as his left leg appeared to cramp.

As the sold-out crowd waited pensively, Duke athletics trainer Jose Fonseca manipulated and flexed Flagg’s left foot before the standout freshman walked gingerly to the bench. He took a drink of water and was smiling while chatting with Duke coach Jon Scheyer.

Flagg didn’t return to the lopsided game, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel led Duke with 22 points as the Blue Devils (1-0) had six players score in double figures.

Duke shot 55.6% while limiting Maine to 37% shooting, including 25% in the second half.

Get used to Duke onslaughts

This Duke team has the makings of being able to quickly bury an opponent by getting defensive stops and turning them into points over a short period of time.

Monday night, it happened shortly before the midway point of the first half when the Blue Devils unleashed a 14-0 run that used only 1:53 of game clock.

The outburst came after Maine’s Christopher Mantis hit a 3-pointer that left Duke with a 12-9 lead.

Knueppel, who scored nine of the 14 points in the run, got things started when he rebounded a Flagg miss to score with 14:17 left in the half. After Mantis missed a 3-pointer, Knueppel drilled one from just in front of the Maine bench.

Flagg recorded a steal near the mid-court line, drawing a foul that allowed him to hit two free throws.

Maliq Brown stole another Maine pass to start a breakout and got the ball to Knueppel, who launched a 3-pointer while drawing a foul. The ball swished through, allowing him to add a free throw for a four-point play.

Mason Gillis sank a 3-pointer from the corner at 12:24 and Duke had sprinted to a 26-9 lead.

First-half ragged spell for Duke

After jumping to that 17-point lead, the Blue Devils took a 44-33 halftime lead. But that was certainly a disappointment.

On the verge of getting blown out, Maine scored nine consecutive points against Duke. Over a seven-minute stretch, Duke made just three field goals. When Maine’s Kellen Tynes hit a free throw with 5:00 to play in the half, Duke’s lead was in single digits at 33-25.

Duke made eight of its first 10 shots to start the game before that extended cold spell.

But because of the offense playing ineffectively, Knueppel was Duke’s only player who scored in double figures in the first half.

Starting five, rotation notes

Duke coach Jon Scheyer used the same starting five against Maine that he used in the team’s final exhibition, a 103-47 hammering of Arizona State on Oct. 27. On Monday, as he did that night, Scheyer started Flagg, Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster and Khaman Maluach.

Maliq Brown, who started Duke’s 107-56 exhibition win over Division II Lincoln (Pa.) on Oct. 19, was first off the bench for Duke. The 6-9 junior transfer from Syracuse replaced Maluach at the 17:09 mark of the first half.

Scheyer subbed Gillis in for Proctor with 16:03 left in the half and had Sion James ready to replace Foster. But Foster missed a free throw so James couldn’t check in until the next break at 14:58.

The point is, though, Scheyer intended to use three players off his bench before the game reached the under-16 official timeout.

The only other Duke player who entered the game before halftime was freshman Isaiah Evans, who played 3:10 of the first half. Every other Blue Devils player who saw action played at least nine minutes of the first half.

Scheyer, as is normal barring an injury or notably poor play, returned to the starting five to start the second half with Duke leading 44-33. Once again, he subbed in Brown for Maluach first, making that move with 16:10 to play.

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