DURHAM – No. 7 Duke dropped a conference matchup to Pittsburgh, 80-76, on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Jared McCain led the Blue Devils (13-4, 4-2) with 20 points and Caleb Foster led the team in both rebounds and assists, with six and five, respectively. For the Panthers (11-7, 2-5), Blake Hinson matched an ACC record, going 7-for-7 from beyond the arc en route to 24 total points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Pittsburgh scored five quick points, courtesy of a dunk and a three-pointer on its first two possessions. The Blue Devils got on the board with two free throws by Kyle Filipowski at the 17:22 mark. Duke’s first field goal of the game was a three-pointer by Caleb Foster shortly before the first media timeout of the half.
- The Panthers went up by double-digits for the first time, 17-7, with just over 14 minutes left in the opening half. Back-to-back three-pointers from Foster and Jared McCain drew Duke within five, 21-16, and forced a timeout by the visitors. A turn-around hook shot by Ryan Young made it a one-possession game, 23-21, and Proctor tied the game with two free throws on the next trip down the floor.
- McCain drilled a long three-pointer and gave Duke its first lead of the game, 26-23, pushing its scoring run to 16-2 over a three-minute stretch. Pittsburgh responded with the next nine before Proctor reached double-digits with a layup shortly before the under-four media timeout. An offensive rebound and put-back by TJ Power narrowed Duke’s deficit to just four at the break, 38-34.
- The two teams traded scores early in the second half, including Filipowski’s first three-pointer of the game just over two minutes into the frame. McCain moved into double-figures with Duke’s second made field goal of the half and leveled the score, 45-45, with 15:43 on the clock. Two free throws by Jaylen Blakes pushed Duke back ahead, 50-49.
- Duke re-tied the score at 55, the game’s fourth tie, with McCain’s third three-pointer of the night. The Panthers answered with four quick points before Filipowski knocked down the Blue Devils’ 10th three-pointer of the contest shortly before the under-eight media timeout.
- A three-point-play by Filipowski pushed the sophomore’s point total to 16 and re-established Duke’s lead, 65-64. The visitors once again had a response, scoring the next five points and edging ahead, 69-65, at the final media break of the contest. Following a miss on the front end of a one-and-one by Pittsburgh, McCain scored his 20th point of the night on a contested layup and narrowed the deficit to one, 72-71, with 67 seconds remaining.
- A three-pointer by Pittsburgh out of a timeout gave the Panthers a two-possession edge. Filipowski made a three-pointer of his own with 10 seconds on the clock, bringing Duke within two, 77-75, but the visitors closed out the 80-76 win at the free throw line.
NOTES
- Saturday’s setback is Duke’s first ACC home loss in the past two seasons.
- Duke trailed by four at halftime, 38-34, marking the first halftime deficit at home since going into the break down by the same margin, 35-31, on Nov. 24, 2023, versus Southern Indiana.
- Duke connected on 11 3-pointers versus Pittsburgh, the third consecutive game the Blue Devils have made double-digit triples.
- Jared McCain was 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, his seventh career game with at least three 3-pointers. Duke is now 6-1 when he reaches that standard.
- McCain finished with a team-high 20 points, his fourth game of the season reaching the 20-point mark.
- Kyle Filipowski shot 50% from the field (5-of-10) and from long range (3-of-6), and converted 6-of-7 free throws to finish with 19 points.
- Caleb Foster accumulated 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. The freshman guard’s rebound and steal totals are both career highs.
QUOTES
- “First, give credit to Pitt. I mean, they came ready to play, hit some really tough shots. Not surprised by any of it. They’ve been a team that’s played better on the road. They’re talented, they’re good; so not surprised by that at all. I didn’t like our start, to begin with. That’s something we have to address. I want to apologize to our fans too, by the way. What happened at the end, that can’t happen. That’s on us and that’s unacceptable. So, for us, we have to watch the game, learn from it, move on quickly – we go on the road in a day and a half – and learn from it. Because that’s not okay with me what happened tonight.” – head coach Jon Scheyer
- “Credit to [Pitt], they played a great game. We were both throwing punches, especially in the second half, back and forth, and they came out on top.” – Ryan Young
UP NEXT
- No. 7 Duke (13-4, 4-2 ACC) hits the road for the first time in two weeks, traveling to Louisville (6-12, 1-6 ACC) on Tuesday, Jan. 23. The game tips at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “DukeMBB”.
