Freshmen lead No. 7 Duke to opening rout of Maine

Nov 4, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Maine Black Bears guard Quion Burns (22) drives the ball while under pressure from Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) in the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Freshman Kon Knueppel scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and Cooper Flagg poured in 18 points in his anticipated college debut as No. 7 Duke opened the season by defeating Maine 96-62 on Monday night in Durham, N.C.

Duke began the season with typically high expectations as it began its third season under coach Jon Scheyer.

The game was set up with Flagg in mind. The Maine native, who was the top-rated recruit among this year's college freshmen, was 6-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-4 on 3-point attempts, but had a team-high seven rebounds and added five assists and three steals.

Caleb Foster and Tulane transfer Sion James notched 11 points apiece, and Tyrese Proctor and Purdue transfer Mason Gillis each had 10 points for Duke, which shot 55.6 percent from the field.

Knueppel and Proctor both bagged nailed three 3-pointers among the Blue Devils' 11.

Quion Burns had 15 points and Keelan Steele finished with 11 for Maine, which was coming off a 15-17 season. The Bears were 3-for-14 on treys.

Flagg scored his first points more than 13 minutes into the game. In the second half, he had a 64-second stretch with six points as the Blue Devils were pulling away.

Duke broke out to a 26-9 lead, boosted by 11 points in less than two minutes along the way. But the margin dipped to 44-33 by halftime, with Flagg at eight points.

Knueppel's 3-pointer built Duke's lead to 56-39, resulting in a Maine time-out. The Bears tried to recover after missing five consecutive shots.

Maine finished 17-for-18 on free throws, outscoring Duke by two points on foul shots. The Blue Devils finished with a 40-27 rebounding advantage.