Some days your team has it and some days your team does not and most often that results in a big fat L. Somehow Duke, despite missing 12 free throws, giving up 11 offensive boards leading to 15 second chance points still were able to escape the Tigers of Clemson by 1 point at home.
The Blue Devils didn’t start particularly slowly in this game which is somewhat surprising considering how things have gone of late. Duke even managed to build a 12 point lead and things were beginning to look like they could put Clemson away in the first half. With 3 minutes left and up 12, the wheels seem to come off a bit for Duke. Scoring doubts, turnovers and missed free throws allowed the Tigers to cut the lead in half heading into the break.
The start of the second half saw the Blue Devis once again build a double-figure lead, pushing it to 10 at the 18:12 mark. Once again Duke was unable to build or maintain the lead as Clemson nipped and bullied the Blue Devils on the boards. The Tigers would eventually break through and take their first lead (57-56) of the second half at the 7:32 mark. The teams volleyed to 8 lead changes and 8 ties. Duke, trailing 69-65 and 2:03 remaining, forced steals on four straight possessions, including three in-a-row by Jared McCain, resulting in a 5-0 run to take a 70-69 advantage with 15 seconds left. PJ Hall on a move toward the basketball drew the 5th foul on Kyle Filipowski. Hall’s 2 free throws fave Clemson a narrow 1 point lead with 7 second left. Two free throws with 1.0 on the clock by Tyrese Proctor gave the Blue Devils the lead and the victory 72-71 win in dramatic fashion.
Jared McCain led the Blue Devils in scoring with 21, the freshman guard also recorded 3 huge steals. McCain also pulled down 5 rebounds and dished 2 assists. Tyrese Proctor, whose free throws iced the game scored 18 points, pulled down 5 boards and registered 2 steals. Mark Mitchell was the Blue Devils only other double-figure scorer with 13 points. Kyle Filipowski, Duke’s leading scorer, only netted 9 points on 2-8 shooting but did have a 3-point play with 15 seconds left to give Duke a 1-point lead before fouling out on the next defensive possession. Filipowski was a force on the defensive end swatting 4 shots.
The Tigers out-rebounded the Blue Devils 42-33 including an 11-4 edge in offensive rebounds that led to 1 15-0 advantage in second chance points. The Blue Devils were also horrid from the free throw line shooting just 63.6% ( 21-33 ).
Next up for the Blue Devils a quick turnaround in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech Monday.
