Rippey scores 21 as Duke rolls past Tennessee in exhibition

Deron Rippey Jr. scored 21 points as Duke overwhelmed Tennessee early and finished with a 103-64 exhibition victory Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils, No. 2 in the Oct. 19 Associated Press preseason poll, scored 15 straight points during their opening surge, built a 27-4 lead and never allowed Tennessee, No. 8 in that poll, to make the game competitive. Duke led 54-30 at halftime and shot 54.5% for the night, with six players scoring in double figures.

For Tennessee, the result came with a more immediate concern than the margin. The school said Terrence Hill Jr. left with a left ankle injury and did not return. Troy Henderson later left with a right ankle injury and missed the final 17-plus minutes. Tennessee's recap did not provide a timetable for either guard.

The exhibition does not count toward either team's regular-season record. It did provide a demanding road test for a Tennessee roster that was already without sixth-year guard Tyler Lundblade because of an offseason back injury.

Duke supplied pressure from the start. Tennessee missed its first five field-goal attempts as the Blue Devils moved ahead 17-2 after 5:25. The lead reached 23 points with 10:49 left in the first half. Tennessee scored six straight to get back to 29-12, but Duke still led by 17.

Rippey made nine of 12 shots and had three steals. John Blackwell added 18 points on six-of-eight shooting with five rebounds, while Dame Sarr scored 15 and Patrick Ngongba II had 13 points and seven boards. Sebastian Wilkins and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje supplied 11 points apiece.

Duke's scoring came with a substantial advantage on the glass. The Blue Devils outrebounded Tennessee 44-29 and made 19 of 21 free throws. Their 36 makes on 66 field-goal attempts left the Volunteers little opportunity to recover after the opening stretch.

Dai Dai Ames led Tennessee with 19 points, making eight of 16 shots. Henderson finished with 10 points before his exit, and Juke Harris also scored 10. Braedan Lue collected a game-high eight rebounds.

Tennessee made 33.9% of its field-goal attempts and 22.2% of its threes.

The teams now have different remaining preseason schedules. Duke heads to Kansas for another exhibition on Oct. 25, scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern at Allen Fieldhouse. Tennessee's next listed game is its regular-season opener against Wofford on Nov. 3 at Food City Center, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. Eastern on SEC Network.