Luke Kennard, Amile Jefferson and Jayson Tatum combined for 75 points For Duke. Florida tallied 74 points as a team.
NEW YORK, Sporting Alert – Luke Kennard poured in 29 points, Tayson Tatum impressed off the bench and No. 5 Duke defeated No. 21 Florida 84-74 in a Jimmy V Classic game here at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Kennard, who scored a career-high 35 points against Maine, went 11 of 16 from the floor and connected on 5 for 7 from 3-pointers for the Blue Devils (9-1), who have won seven in a row.
“We did a really good job sharing the ball tonight,” the sophomore said on ESPN.
Amile Jefferson added a career-high 25 points and match his best with 15 rebounds for Duke, which recovered from a slow start.
Five-star freshman Tatum came off the bench to finish with 22 points on 7 of 11 shooting.
He hit all eight of his free throws and pulled down eight rebounds for the Blue Devils, who shot 53 percent.
Grayson Allen struggled shooting the ball on the night after scoring just six points and shot 2 of 9 from the floor.
The junior guard did, however, managed to dish out a game-high eight assists.
“It’s always an honor to play at the Garden, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “And it’s always an honor to play against a really good team in the Garden when your bringing attention to the fight against cancer.”
Talented guard KeVaughn Allen scored 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting with three 3-pointers to lead Florida.
Kasey Hill added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Devin Robinson chipped in with 11 points for the Gators (7-2), who had their two-game win streak snapped.
