Duke shoots 50 percent from deep, blows out Syracuse

Jeremy Roach scored 17 points and Kyle Filipowski collected 14 points and 12 boards as Duke posted a 77-55 road victory over Syracuse on Saturday evening.

Dariq Whitehead chipped in 14 points for the Blue Devils (19-8, 10-6 ACC), who improved to 3-6 on the road. The contest was played in front of 31,063 fans, making it the largest on-campus crowd in college basketball this season.

The Orange (16-11, 9-7) have lost eight straight meetings with the Blue Devils, with all of those losses coming by at least nine points. In this one, Syracuse received the majority of its offense from Joe Girard III (21 points) and Judah Mintz (18).

The game was tied at 19-19 after about 13 minutes of action before Duke erupted offensively en route to a 40-27 lead at the break.

Three-pointers by Jacob Grandison, Tyrese Proctor, Roach and Whitehead helped the Blue Devils take a double-digit lead before Filipowski's layup and 3-pointer pushed the advantage to 17 points. Roach's layup capped a 21-2 burst by the Blue Devils, who suddenly led 40-21 with 2:25 to play.

The Orange scored the final six points of the half to make it a 13-point game at intermission. Mintz then opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer as the hosts got back within 10 points.

The margin was still 10 with about 16 minutes remaining when Duke essentially put away the game with an 8-0 run. Roach scored the final four points of the surge as the visitors took a 55-37 advantage.

Syracuse got as close as 14 points down the stretch, but the Blue Devils had an answer every time. Roach's 3-pointer with 6:20 left extended the lead to 21 points, and Dereck Lively's dunk with 1:34 to go made it a 24-point game.

The Orange shot just 34.5 percent from the field, while the Blue Devils shot 54.5 percent overall, including a crisp 13-of-26 effort from 3-point range.