Elon University Phoenix vs Duke Blue Devils Box Score on Dec 18, 2021

Trevor Keels poured in 19 points and No. 2 Duke overwhelmed visiting Elon to end the nonconference portion of its schedule with an 87-56 victory on Saturday at Durham, N.C.

Paolo Banchero and Wendell Moore Jr. chipped in with 12 points apiece and Jeremy Roach had 11 points for the Blue Devils (10-1), who begin Atlantic Coast Conference play next week at home against Virginia Tech.

Elon (3-9) was the third team to fill the opponent's line for Duke on Saturday's schedule. Earlier in the week, the original foe, Cleveland State, backed out because of COVID-19 protocols. Loyola (Md.) was set to be the replacement, but Friday it was announced that the Greyhounds had similar issues, so Elon was brought on.

Elon, which secured its only victory against a Division I foe this season by winning Wednesday night on a late 3-pointer against visiting Winthrop, received 14 points from Jerald Gillens-Butler. Zac Ervin had 11 points off the bench, hitting three 3-point shots.

Elon, which is coached by former Duke director of basketball operations Mike Schrage, was charged with 23 turnovers compared to just eight for Duke. The Phoenix was also hurt by the absence of injured starting center Andrew Junkin.

Duke broke out to a 24-9 edge in the first nine minutes and led 44-26 at halftime on its way to its third home victory in three days.

Banchero pulled in a game-high nine rebounds.

Elon attempted just nine free throws, making five. The turnovers created a huge gap in number of field goal attempts, with Duke going 32-for-65 (49.2 percent) and Elon at 22-for-49 (44.9 percent).

Duke used 13 players in the game and they all scored. The Blue Devils managed just two points in the final 3:54.

Prior to the game, Duke announced that assistant coach Nolan Smith would be absent due to the school's health and safety protocols.

--Field Level Media