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No. 1 Duke wows fans at Maui Invitational

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Duke guard Tre Jones shoots over San Diego State forward Matt Mitchell (11) and guard Jeremy Hemsley (42) during the second half. Hemsley is the older brother of University of Hawaii player Justin Hemsley. They both wear 42.

LAHAINA >> Top-ranked Duke submitted an eye-popping performance today on Day 1 of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, as freshman stars R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson took turns wowing the packed Lahaina Civic Center in the Blue Devils’ 90-64 rout of San Diego State.

The Blue Devils (4-0) led by double digits most of the way, but did not truly separate until a barrage of 3s late in the first half. The second half became a rotating highlight reel among Barrett, Reddish and Williamson, as well as guard Tre Jones. Those four combined for 53 points.

Mike Krzyzewski’s team improved to 16-0 all-time on Maui and advanced to face No. 8 Auburn on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in an ESPN-televised game.

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson’s second-half windmill dunk on a steal and a breakaway was the singular highlight.

Duke hit nine of its 10 3-pointers in the first half to take a 49-32 lead.

In the first game of the day, Xavier put a scare into No. 8 Auburn, rallying late to send it to overtime. But the Tigers of the SEC dominated the extra period to win 88-79, keyed by point guard Jared Harper.

The 5-foot-11 Harper scored 25 points, including a thunderous tomahawk jam over the Musketeers’ front court in OT.

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