Jon Scheyer alludes to Kentucky loss at halftime, calls for Duke to finish strong vs. Arizona

Just 10 days ago, during the Champions Classic, Duke saw a nine-point halftime lead vanish as Kentucky came back to steal the victory. The Blue Devils found themselves in the same situation Friday at halftime against Arizona – and Jon Scheyer called on his team to finish strong.

Duke took a 34-26 lead into the locker room against Arizona during Friday’s game in Tucson. The Blue Devils used a balanced attack with strong three-point defense to keep the Wildcats offense under control heading into the break.

But Scheyer alluded to that Kentucky game and what happened in the second half. UK outscored Duke 40-26 in the final 20 minutes to get the win. That’s why he said the Blue Devils need to come out firing against Arizona.

“We were here,” Scheyer told ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. “We’ve been here before. So for us, look, being in these moments, let’s learn. Let’s learn. We’ve got to come out right away, second half. They’re an explosive team. We’ve done a great job for 20 minutes. It’s a 40-minute game, though.”

Duke got eight points apiece from Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor and Khaman Maluach while Sion James added six off the bench. But Scheyer noted the Blue Devils defense, which held Arizona to 11-of-26 shooting from the floor and just a 3-of-12 showing from three-point territory.

Of course, they weren’t perfect. Jon Scheyer noted the final sequence, which gave Arizona one final shot before the break. Still, he was pleased with the effort through the first 20 minutes.

“I love our defense, I love our toughness, I love our rebounding,” Scheyer said. “We’ve got to be better that last possession. We can’t give them another shot there.”

Jaden Bradley led the way for Arizona in the first half with 10 points while Caleb Love was quiet. He had just two points on 1-of-4 shooting and miss all three of his three-point attempts before the break.

Arizona is looking to bounce back from a loss to Wisconsin, which was marred by struggles on defense. The Badgers won 103-88, and Arizona entered Friday scoring 94.3 points per game on offense.