D.J. Steward and Jalen Johnson turned in strong performances in their Duke debuts as the ninth-ranked Blue Devils began the season with an 81-71 victory against visiting Coppin State on Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Steward, a freshman guard, came off the bench to score 24 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field. Johnson, the only freshman in Duke's starting lineup, poured in 19 points to go with 19 rebounds while making all eight of his field-goal attempts. Johnson also added five assists and four blocked shots.

It was a rather uneven outing for Duke, with this considered a tuneup prior to Michigan State's visit Tuesday night

Wendell Moore Jr.'s 13 points and Matthew Hurt's 12 points also boosted the Blue Devils, who won their opener for the 21st season in a row.

Anthony Tarke and DeJuan Clayton, who made all 10 of his free throws, paced Coppin State with 22 points apiece. Koby Thomas added 11 points and Kenan Sarvan had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Coppin State was within 62-56 with less than eight minutes remaining after Duke held a 45-28 halftime lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Hurt and Jeremy Roach allowed the Blue Devils to reestablish a double-digit lead.

The Eagles hung around, with Nendah Tarke's 3-pointer making it 76-69 at the 2:28 mark. Steward responded with a 3 on Duke's next possession. Twenty-one seconds later, Moore scored in the lane for a 12-point lead.

Duke attempted only three free throws across the first 28 minutes of the game. It finished 4-for-10 on foul shots.

Part of Coppin's State's ability to stay within range was related to Duke's 18 turnovers compared to five giveaways by the Eagles by the midway mark of the second half. By game's end, Duke had 22 turnovers and Coppin State had eight.

The Eagles, whose coach Juan Dixon had memorable encounters with Duke when he was a Maryland player nearly two decades ago, didn't receive a point from their reserves. The Blue Devils countered with 33 bench points.

It was a delayed opener for both teams after postponements or cancellations earlier in the week. Duke was supposed to play its first game against Gardner-Webb, but the Bulldogs' coronavirus issues caused that game to be called off, though it might be rescheduled. Coppin State had a positive virus test, meaning two games it would have played in a multi-team event at Marshall were nixed.

This was the first-ever meeting between the Coppin State and Duke programs.

--Field Level Media