National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Duke 96, Grand Canyon 61
When: 5:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 12, 2016
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Officials: # Les Jones, # Trey Styons, # Art Valk
Attendance: 9314

DURHAM, N.C. -- Even a reduced Duke roster might be plenty enough on many days for the top-ranked Blue Devils.

Using a rotation that mostly was limited to six players, Duke cruised to another lopsided result by topping visiting Grand Canyon 96-61 on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"It's always next man up," Duke forward Amile Jefferson said, realizing with three injured teammates the roster makeup could change. "We won't have a short bench for long."

Preseason All-American guard Grayson Allen provided the firepower with 25 points as Duke won for the second time in as many days.

Freshman guard Frank Jackson pumped in 21 points, Jefferson tacked on 15 points and guard Luke Kennard had 14.

So the scoring options continue to look plentiful.

"We went with a deeper bench (Friday night against Marist) and it went really well for us and this game we had a shorter bench and that worked," Allen said.

Allen scored 14 points in the first half when the Blue Devils (2-0) pulled away after a rather ordinary first 10 minutes.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said nine players could factor in, though only six players were on the court for more than seven minutes against Grand Canyon.

With several players on the court for extended minutes, that's about how it was the past couple of seasons for the Blue Devils.

"We should always be ready (for that)," Jefferson said.

The outcome spoiled the opener for the Antelopes, who were coming off a 27-win season. Grand Canyon guard Shaq Carr scored 18 points and forward Keonta Vernon had 11 points.

"We're just trying to figure each other out," Grand Canyon coach Dan Majerle said. "For the first game ... I thought probably the first 12, 13 minutes we played pretty good. We've just got to keep our heads up and keep them working."

Duke played for the second day in a row without a trio of herald freshmen as Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden sat out with injuries.

The Blue Devils needed barely two minutes to begin the second half on an 11-2 burst in what became a 60-31 spread.

This came after Duke's 16-3 run to end the first half. A couple of rapid-fire 3-point baskets helped the Blue Devils grab an 18-point lead and settle for a 46-29 advantage at the break.

"We started really playing some great defense the last eight minutes of the first half," Krzyzewski said.

Grand Canyon led 15-9 before Jackson drained a 3-pointer for a 20-17 edge.

Fouls mounted on the Antelopes, with forward Gerard Martin hit with his third by late in the first half and five teammates with two fouls each.

"I don't think we ever did what we wanted to do," Majerle said.

Until Javin DeLaurier entered with 1:50 to go in the opening half, Duke had used only six players.

NOTES: This game was part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. ... This was the second time in three years that Grand Canyon opened the season against the team ranked No. 1, falling at Kentucky at the start of the 2014-15 season. ... The only other Atlantic Coast Conference school that Grand Canyon has played is Louisville last December and the two teams will meet again next month. ... Grand Canyon senior G DeWayne Russell sat out the first of two games because of an NCAA ruling regarding his transfer from Northern Arizona in 2013-14, though he led the Antelopes in scoring and assists in an exhibition game earlier this month against Adams State. ... Duke is back in action Tuesday night against Kansas in the Champions Classic at New York's Madison Square Garden. ... Saturday's game was the first of four consecutive games on the East Coast for Grand Canyon, which travels to Penn State on Wednesday night.
Top Game Performances
 
Grand Canyon   Duke
Shaq Carr 18 Scoring Grayson Allen 25
Shaq Carr 8 Assists Luke Kennard 6
Joshua Braun 5 Rebounds Grayson Allen 10
Shaq Carr 2 Free Throws Made Grayson Allen 5
Darion Clark 2 Steals Grayson Allen 3
Oscar Frayer 2 Blocks Amile Jefferson 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Grand Canyon 61 41.9 3-12 6-12 11 27 2 7 21
Duke 96 53.3 11-29 21-31 20 38 8 14 15