DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Grayson Allen showed what he’s capable of when healthy — and then went down with the latest in a run of injuries for No. 6 Duke.
Allen scored all 21 of his points in the first half, then injured a toe late in Duke’s 93-58 rout of Appalachian State on Saturday.
Allen, who has been playing through a right foot injury suffered in last week’s loss to No. 5 Kansas, appeared to tweak that foot or ankle when he went down while going for a rebound with about 12 minutes to play and Duke leading by 35. He stayed on the bench for the rest of the game.
Allen was not available for comment after the game because he was receiving treatment, team spokesman Cory Walton said.
“He just landed funny, and when that happens, it hurts,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “It really hurts. He looked fresher in that first half than he has the entire season, and hopefully we’ll get there by Tuesday night” when No. 24 Michigan State visits.
Luke Kennard added 18 points and Amile Jefferson and Frank Jackson each finished with 15 for the Blue Devils (6-1), who have won four straight but once again must deal with an injury to a key player. Duke also has been without three injured freshman big men due to injuries and Krzyzewski says those three won’t play against Michigan State either.
“That’s frustrating, but you do what you need to do and we don’t ask anybody to feel sorry for us, and nobody will,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s just a fact of life. I don’t want, ‘Poor me.’ I’m not ‘Poor me.’ I’ve got good guys. … Totally the opposite (team) of what we thought we would have.”
Kelvin Robinson scored 12 points for the Mountaineers (2-3), who average 89 points but for the first time were held to fewer than 70.
Allen started shooting the ball better in his last game, hitting three 3s in a rout of William & Mary on Wednesday night, and he picked up right where he left off.
He led the way during an opening half in which Duke scored a season-best 55 points and used a 24-12 burst to push the lead into the 20s. Allen keyed the run with two of his four 3s, and Jackson capped it with a layup that made it 53-31.
Matt Jones added 10 points for Duke.
