Blue Hose battle Blue Devils, as Coack K eyes milestone

Nov 12, 2011 - 5:12 PM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Mike Krzyzewski sets his sights on Bob Knight, as the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils welcome the Presbyterian Blue Hose to Durham for non-conference action at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It is a quick turnaround for the Blue Devils, who opened the season with a much harder than expected 77-76 victory over Belmont on Friday night in opening-round action of the Maui Invitational. With the win, Duke extended the nation's longest homecourt winning streak to 37 games and the longest homecourt winning streak against non-league foes to 87 games. The win was Coach K's 901st in his career, as he is just one shy of tying Bob Knight (902) for the most victories in NCAA history.

Duke won the only other meeting between these two teams, an 80-49 rout in 2009.

The Blue Hose opened the season with a resounding victory last night, blowing out Montreat, 103-73 at the Templeton Center. Presbyterian opened the season with a victory for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign. The 103 points that the Blue Hose put up on Montreat marked the highest scoring output for the team since amassing 111 points against Carver Bible College during the 2007-08 season.

Al'Lonzo Coleman led the offensive onslaught with a game-high 21 points in the win over Montreat. He was joined by five other Presbyterian players in double figures, as Khalid Mutakabbir poured in 18 points, followed by Tyler Diehl (12 pts), Jay Reynolds (10 pts), Ryan Hargrave (10 pts) and William Truss (10 pts). The Blue Hose shot a sterling 57.6 percent from the floor overall, including 12-of-25 from behind the arc (48 percent). The team was exceptionally sharp in the second half, converting an impressive 21-of-29 shots over the final 20 minutes of action (72.4 percent).

The Blue Devils had their troubles with Belmont, shooting a pedestrian .429 from the floor overall, while the Bruins converted 47.4 percent from the field in a game that saw six ties. Still, five players notched double figures in the win, led by Seth Curry and Austin Rivers, who netted 16 points apiece. Curry knocked down 4-of-5 three-point attempts, while Rivers, perhaps the nation's top freshman, was just 3-of-9 from the field, but a steady 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Forward Mason Plumlee was dominant in the paint, finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Ryan Kelly and Tyler Thornton chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.