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Duke overcomes another injury

Duke guard Grayson Allen drives past Appalachian State defender Tyrell Johnson during the first half of Saturday’s game. Allen scored 21 points in the fi rst half to help the No. 6 Blue Devils stroll past the Mountaineers 93-58.
Duke guard Grayson Allen drives past Appalachian State defender Tyrell Johnson during the first half of Saturday’s game. Allen scored 21 points in the fi rst half to help the No. 6 Blue Devils stroll past the Mountaineers 93-58.

NO. 6 DUKE 93, APPALACHIAN STATE 58

DURHAM, N.C. -- Grayson Allen showed what he's capable of when healthy -- and then went down with the latest in a run of injuries for No. 6 Duke.

Allen scored all 21 of his points in the first half, then injured a toe late in Duke's 93-58 rout of Appalachian State on Saturday.

Allen, who has been playing through a right foot injury suffered in last week's loss to No. 5 Kansas, appeared to tweak that foot or ankle when he went down while going for a rebound with about 12 minutes to play and Duke leading by 35. He stayed on the bench for the rest of the game.

Allen was not available for comment after the game because he was receiving treatment, team spokesman Cory Walton said.

"He just landed funny, and when that happens, it hurts," Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It really hurts. He looked fresher in that first half than he has the entire season, and hopefully we'll get there by Tuesday night" when No. 24 Michigan State visits.

Luke Kennard added 18 points and Amile Jefferson and Frank Jackson each finished with 15 for the Blue Devils (6-1), who have won four consecutive but once again must deal with an injury to a key player. Duke also has been without three injured freshman big men because of injuries and Krzyzewski says those three won't play against Michigan State either.

"That's frustrating, but you do what you need to do and we don't ask anybody to feel sorry for us, and nobody will," Krzyzewski said. "It's just a fact of life. I don't want, 'Poor me.' I'm not 'Poor me.' I've got good guys. ... Totally the opposite [team] of what we thought we would have."

Kelvin Robinson scored 12 points for the Mountaineers (2-3), who average 89 points but were held below 70 for the first time.

Allen started shooting the ball better in his last game, hitting 3 three-pointers in a rout of William & Mary on Wednesday night, and he picked up right where he left off.

He led the way during an opening half in which Duke scored a season-best 55 points and used a 24-12 burst to push the lead into the 20s. Allen keyed the run with two of his four three-pointers, and Jackson capped it with a layup that made it 53-31.

Matt Jones added 10 points for Duke.

In other games involving Top 25 men's teams Saturday, J.P. Macura scored 18 points, and Xavier's defense dug in during a dominant first half, sending the ninth-ranked Musketeers to a 64-42 victory over Northern Iowa. Xavier (6-0) completely controlled a rematch of teams playing for the second time in six days. The Musketeers beat Northern Iowa 67-59 for championship of Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando last Sunday. The Musketeers looked very comfortable in their second go-round against the Panthers (3-2). Northern Iowa had trouble finding open shots while Xavier raced ahead 30-10, going 4 of 13 from the field with seven turnovers. The Musketeers led 35-12 at halftime -- the fewest points they had allowed in any half for 34 years. Xavier pushed the lead to 26 points early in the second half and was never threatened. Jeremy Morgan scored 14 points -- all in the second half -- for Northern Iowa. ... Justin Patton made all eight of his shots and scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, and No. 12 Creighton shot 74 percent after halftime to break away from Loyola (Md.) for an 82-52 victory. The Bluejays (6-0) couldn't shake the Greyhounds (2-4) in the first half, shooting 36.7 percent while getting out to a 30-25 lead. They opened the second half making 17 of 22 shots during a 36-15 run to create a 66-40 bulge. Their size and athleticism became apparent as the Greyhounds were worn down. The 7-foot Patton dunked three times and Marcus Foster once during the decisive run. Foster had 16 points and Khyri Thomas and Martin Krampelj added 10 apiece for the Bluejays, who were coming off their championship in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Jarred Jones led Loyola with 13 points and Andre Walker added 12 points and five assists. ... Caleb Swanigan had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and freshman guard Carsen Edwards added 19 points, leading No. 17 Purdue to a 79-68 victory over NJIT. Swanigan was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and 10 of 10 from the free-throw line, and Edwards scored 15 second-half points to help Purdue (5-1) pull away from a slim 37-34 halftime lead. Swanigan was the MVP of this week's Cancun Challenge, and Edwards scored a career-high 21 points in Wednesday night's victory over Auburn in the championship game. Damon Lynn had 20 of his 33 points in the second half for NJIT (3-4), which also got 12 points from Chris Jenkins. The momentum swung completely in Purdue's favor with 9:12 remaining when Rob Ukawuba fouled Swanigan and also was whistled for a technical foul. Swanigan made four consecutive free throws for a 61-47 lead.

SEC

S. Carolina wins

NEW YORK -- Sindarius Thornwell scored 16 points and South Carolina never trailed in its 64-50 victory over No. 18 Syracuse on Saturday in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational at Barclays Center.

Thornwell shot 3 of 6 from the field and made 9 of 10 free throws. He also had six rebounds, five assists, three steals and was named the MVP of the Invitational.

Mike Kotsar also had 16 points for South Carolina (6-0), which shot 45 percent (23 of 51). PJ Dozier added 15 and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks, who gave up 12 of the first 18 rebounds but finished with a 37-30 margin on the glass.

Tyler Lydon led the Orange (4-1) with a season-high 18 points. Andrew White III and Frank Howard added 10 points apiece.

It was the second time in three seasons South Carolina knocked off a Top 25 team in Brooklyn. On Jan. 2, 2014, the Gamecocks had a 64-60 victory over No. 9 Iowa State.

The Gamecocks had enough offense and have continued getting victories with its lockdown defense. After holding No. 25 Michigan to 19.2 percent shooting Wednesday, South Carolina limited the Orange to 31.8 percent, had 12 steals and forced 17 turnovers.

Though South Carolina had some fans in the crowd, the game was played in front of a mostly pro-Syracuse crowd. Those fans tried to replicate the noise at the Carrier Dome by constantly being on their feet and counting down "5,4,3,2,1" to distract South Carolina into thinking the shot clock was winding down.

The noise only worked on a limited basis for Syracuse.

In another game involving SEC men's teams, K.J. Walton scored 19 points and grabbed four rebounds as Missouri coasted to an 84-60 victory over Northwestern State. Walton was the first player off Missouri's bench, which outscored the Demons' 43-8. Frankie Hughes and Willie Jackson, who scored 11 apiece for the Tigers (3-2). Cullen VanLeer scored 10 points and Kevin Puryear finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Northwestern State (2-3) led 14-9 early, but Missouri closed the first half on a 15-4 run and led 39-27 at halftime.

Sports on 11/27/2016

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