Spreading the wealth: Top-seeded Duke uses whole bench in big win over Mount St. Mary’s

Cooper Flagg returned to Duke’s starting lineup and everything else got even better from there for the nation’s top-ranked team.

With Flagg on the court again after a sprained ankle kept him out of two games, the Blue Devils needed 13 minutes to build a 20-point lead as they rolled to a 93-49 NCAA Tournament first-round win over Mount St. Mary’s at Lenovo Center.

The East Region’s No. 1 seed, the Blue Devils (32-3) won their 12th consecutive game to advance to Sunday’s second round and a matchup with No. 9 seed Baylor (20-14). The Bears, with former Duke guard Jeremy Roach, edged Mississippi State, 75-72, in Friday’s first game.

Flagg hadn’t appeared in a Duke game since March 13, when he fell to the court in pain with a sprained ankle during his team’s 78-70 ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils won the ACC championship two nights later, even though Flagg, the ACC player of the year, wasn’t in uniform for the semifinals and final.

But the 6-9 phenom returned to practice full speed by Wednesday, signaling he was healthy enough to return to the lineup. He showed no ill-effects from the injury.

“I think honestly, for me,” Flagg said, “after watching the whole ACC Tournament, it was more of just like a plan to just be ready for this game. We just put a plan in place. We have phases, a strategy of just getting back, getting prepared, and being ready. So we just followed it step by step. I worked with our medical team really well, and they did a great job just getting me ready.”

Though Duke coach Jon Scheyer gave him frequent breaks during the first half and a longer one after halftime due to the lopsided score, Flagg scored 14 points with seven rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes of play. Scheyer removed Flagg from the game for good with 10:53 to play and Duke leading by 32.

Tyrese Proctor’s 19 points paced Duke, which shot 60.6% in the first half to open a 54-28 halftime lead and finished at 50% from the field for the game. After hitting six 3-pointers when Duke beat Louisville, 73-62, in last Saturday’s ACC Tournament final, Proctor made six of eight 3-point attempts against Mount St. Mary’s.

Proctor fell just shy of Duke’s school record for 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game, which is eight by Jared McCain last year against James Madison.

Still, his performance Friday was in stark contrast to his scoreless game in last season’s 76-64 loss to N.C. State in the tournament’s South Regional final that left Duke one win short of the Final Four.

“I think as soon as that game ended,” Proctor said, “it was on my mind. It’s the reason I came back. I think going into this game, just wanted to play at a high level. That comes with scoring. That comes with sharing the ball and stuff like that.

I think it did fuel me. It fueled our team as a whole, honestly. First meeting at the start of the year, we talked about it, and I thought we just played a great game tonight.”

Freshman center Khaman Maluach scored 11 points while hitting all five of his shots from the field, including a 3-pointer. Caleb Foster scored 12 points off the bench as Duke hit 14 3-pointers.

Mount St. Mary’s shot 30.2% from the field, making 5 of 27 3-pointers (18.5%). Duke, meanwhile, recorded 21 assists with just two turnovers. That 10.5 assist-to-turnover ratio established a new school record.

Playing in the same building where a previous Blue Devils’ team, seeded No. 3, lost 78-71 to Mercer in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, this Duke squad handled its business without drama.

Duke blitzed Mount St. Mary’s from the start, never trailing while hitting five of its first six shots to lead 13-3. Proctor had two of his 3-pointers during that opening push.

While Mount St. Mary’s made just 3 of its first 12 shots and missed its first six 3-pointers, Duke pushed its lead to 22-6 when Flagg took a slick pass from Pat Ngongba and slammed in two points with 12:19 left in the half.

A Proctor 3-pointer at 7:01 gave Duke its first 20-point lead at 38-18.

“I just thought that these guys were incredibly mature without necessarily even playing in the NCAA Tournament besides Tyrese and Mason (Gillis),” Scheyer said. “Proud of the performance. We have to move on very quickly, but really good to get our feet wet and understand what the tournament is all about.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Spreading the wealth: Top-seeded Duke uses whole bench in big win over Mount St. Mary’s."

Steve Wiseman

The News & Observer

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Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.