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Duke Blue Devils take down Florida Gators in Jimmy V Classic

By Everett Merrill, The Sports Xchange
Duke Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski led the team past th Florida Gators in the Jimmy V Classic. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Duke Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski led the team past th Florida Gators in the Jimmy V Classic. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK -- Luke Kennard poured in 29 points, Amile Jefferson scored a career-high 24 points and freshman sensation Jayson Tatum added 22 points to lead No. 5 Duke to an 84-74 victory over No. 21 Florida in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Jefferson added 15 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and Grayson Allen recorded a career-high eight assists for Duke (9-1).

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Tatum, playing in second game for Duke (9-1), contributed eight rebounds. He had been out with a sprained ankle he suffered in the preseason. Tatum was 8 of 8 from the line and 7 of 11 from the floor.

KeVaughn Allen led Florida (7-2) with 21 points and Kasey Hill chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Duke's only loss this season was a 77-75 decision to Kansas at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15.

The Gators got to within 78-71 with 2:28 left on a 3-pointer from Justin Leon, but the Blue Devils countered with a layup and two free throws from Kennard to move its lead to 82-71 with 1:12 remaining.

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A pair of free throws from Tatum, who was effective running the floor on the break and shooting from the perimeter, extended Duke's lead to 76-62 with 4:30 to play. Kennard's 3-pointer advanced the Duke lead to 53-39 at the 14:33 mark.

The Gators clawed back to 43-37 on a dunk from John Egbunu, but Duke responded with a trey from Allen and a layup from Tatum to move ahead 50-37 with 16:02 left.

The lead changed six times in the first half before the Blue Devils created a little separation with a 19-6 run in the final six minutes of the half, erasing a 25-22 Gators lead with a 41-31 edge.

Jefferson scored eight of his 18 first half points in the sequence. Tatum contributed six points, four rebounds and two steals in 12 minutes in the half.

NOTES: Florida coach Mike White is the son of Duke vice president & director of athletics Kevin White. ... Duke won the third-most games and has the fourth-best winning percentage in the nation during this decade. ... Duke F Amile Jefferson is 18th in the nation in double-doubles. ... The Blue Devils produced six top-10 NBA picks since 2011, second to Kentucky (eight) over that time span. ... This was the first meeting since the Gators knocked off the Blue Devils in the 2000 NCAA Sweet 16 in Syracuse, N.Y.

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