Duke wins first game of Jon Scheyer era

Duke is 1-0 in the Jon Scheyer era.

The Blue Devils defeated Jacksonville 71-44 on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 5-star freshman Mark Mitchell scored the first points of Scheyer’s tenure, a

nd Duke never looked back.

With key freshmen Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II out for this game due to injury, it was Mitchell who stepped up and produced in their absence.

Mitchell scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The physical forward also made 2-of-5 attempts from three-point range and had two assists, one block and one steal.

Kyle Philipowski also made his d

ebut, scoring 10 points on eight shots. He led the team with 12 rebounds and dished out three assists.

Every member of Duke’s starting lineup had multiple assists in this contest. Jeremy Roach led the way with four dimes. He also scored 16 points and made 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

Duke plays USC Upstate on Friday evening. It’s possible Lively will make his much-anticipated debut in that contest.