Zion Williamson guides No. 1 Duke past Wake Forest

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Zion Williamson scored a career-high 30 points and the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils cruised to an 87-65 win against Wake Forest on Tuesday at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The freshman phenom entered the matchup with four 3-pointers all season, but shot 13-of-16 from the field and converted 3-of-4 shots from downtown.

The 30 points for Williamson edged his previous career high of 28 points he scored against the Kentucky Wildcats in his Duke debut on Nov. 6.

Williamson added 10 rebounds and five assists.

Blue Devils forward R.J. Barrett worked in sync with Williamson and scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and tied the team high with seven assists.

"I mean, we're brothers on and off the court," Williamson said about Barrett following the game. "We're always together off the court, and we can give each other that look like, 'Alright, bro, let's go.' And we know what we gotta do."

Freshman Cam Reddish finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting and big man Marques Bolden added 12 points off the bench to lead Duke to its eighth consecutive win.

Duke (13-1, 2-0 ACC) pulled away early in the second half and outscored Wake Forest 45-31 in the final frame. The Blue Devils had lost six of their last nine conference road openers but took command after shooting 63 percent from the field in the last 20 minutes.

Freshman forward Jaylen Hoard (13 points) paced the Demon Deacons (7-7, 0-2 ACC). Brandon Childress and Sharone Wright Jr. chipped in 12 points apiece.

Duke travels to challenge the No. 13 Florida State Seminoles (12-2, 0-1 ACC) on Jan. 12. Wake Forest plays the Miami Hurricanes (8-6, 0-2 ACC) on the same date.