A lot of noise was made about the “rivalry” between the UConn Huskies and Duke Blue Devils. But for both teams, it was just another early season test as they get ready for conference play.

UConn head coach Kevin Ollie reacts to a play late in the second half against Duke at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., Thursday night.The Blue Devils used a big advantage at the free throw line to pick up a 66-56 win over UConn in front of 16,541 at the IZOD Center on Thursday night.

UConn falls back to .500 on the season at 4-4 while No. 2 improves to 10-0.

Ryan Boatright led all scorers in the game with 22 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Kentan Facey had a nice game with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds with Daniel Hamilton adding 10 points.

After scoring 40 points  his last time out and being named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Amida Brimah was a non-factor as he spent most of the game on the bench with foul trouble.

Tyus Jones led the Blue Devils with 21 points. Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow both added 12 points while Amile Jefferson had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Quinn Cook rounded out the Dukies in double-digits with 10 points.

UConn is back in action on Monday when they’ll host the Columbia Tigers at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT at 7:30 p.m.

UConn Huskies vs Duke Blue Devils 12/18/14 box score

photo credit: john woike – hartford courant