Jack LeGwin, Contributing Writer
The fourth ranked Duke Blue Devils beat FSC 112-68 on Saturday night, in an exhibition between the defending Division I and Division II National Champions.
“Duke is really good. They jumped on us early and played really well and really hard, so all the credit in the world to Duke,” Moccasin head coach Mike Donnelly said. “This game was a lot of fun for us. It is terrific for college basketball at our level and for the kids it is a great experience. I hope that they keep doing it because it is great for everyone involved.”
The Mocs were led in scoring by senior Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.), who tallied 15 points on 6-16 shooting. Junior Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.) had 13 points on 5-13 shooting , and Trey Moore (Omaha, Neb.) had 10 points on 4-7 shooting with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. New freshman Jarel Spellman (Richmond, Va.) was the most efficient for the Mocs, going 4-6 from the field and scoring 8 points.
Freshman point guard Derryck Thornton (Chatsworth, Ca.) led the Blue Devils with 22 points off of the bench, with Brandon Ingram (Kinston, N.C.), who is projected to be the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft scored 16 points and added 6 rebounds.
In the end, The Blue Devils size was too much for the Mocs, who were out rebounded 55-28.
“We are new,” Donnelly said. “We have eight new guys this year, a whole new coaching staff. This was not about the result this was accomplishing some little things for us, and I was pretty happy with what we did.”
Legendary Duke coach, Mike Krzyewski said in an interview after the game, that he was impressed by how hard FSC played throughout the whole game, as well as how well the Mocs shot the ball from the perimeter.
“It was good to play against a team of champions. Florida Southern, their kids played really hard and they have a system of play and they move the ball around very well, Krzyewski said in the press conference after the game. “They moved the ball well and shot it well.”
Krzyewski continued on to say that he believes the FSC will continue on to have a good year at the division II level, and as well as saying it was an honor to host the Mocs.
“Overall it was a good win for us tonight. They are going to be a really good team again, so it was good to play them. It is always good for us to play a championship team,” Kryzyewski said. “For them to have lost one game last year and win the Division II National Championship is quite an accomplishment and so it is an honor to have them in here.”
Not every day do you get to see the Mocs play at the storied Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University, and that is what makes this memory one for the record books.
The Mocs continue their preseason basketball up at Syracuse on Sunday.
