Duke Defeats Notre Dame, 68-64

DURHAM – Freshman Mark Mitchell canned a corner three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to help Duke seal a 68-64 win over Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.

Playing in front of former head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who returned to Cameron for the first time to take in a game as a fan, freshman Kyle Filipowski scored a team-high 22 points as the Blue Devils shook of the sting of Saturday’s overtime loss at Virginia to improve to 18-8 overall and 9-6 in the ACC. 

Filipowski’s 22-point performance was his third 20-point game this season — all coming over the last nine games. Seven different Blue Devils scored at least six points against the Fighting Irish, including Mitchell’s eight points. Freshman Dariq Whitehead and Jeremy Roach, each scored nine, while graduate Ryan Young pulled down eight boards and scored six points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kyle Filipowski scored the first four points for the Blue Devils, laying in the first basket of the evening and then connecting on a 15-foot jumper on Duke’s next trip down the floor. A short 7-0 scoring run by Notre Dame helped the visitors gain a slight lead, 9-8, at the first media timeout.
• Playing at Cameron for the first time since Jan. 21, Dariq Whitehead promptly knocked down a three-pointer with 13:28 remaining in the first half to put Duke back in the lead, 13-11.
• Another Whitehead three-pointer followed by two free throws from Jeremy Roach and a put-back layup by Ryan Young gave the Blue Devils a 22-17 lead with just over six minutes left in the half. During the seven-point burst, Duke’s defense held Notre Dame scoreless for nearly four minutes.
• A layup by Filipowski gave the freshman 10 points and made him the first player to reach double-figures for the evening. The Westtown, N.Y., native finished the first half 5-of-7 from the field and helped Duke lead, 31-23, at the break.
• Filipowski stayed hot out of halftime and scored on Duke’s first two possessions, extending Duke’s lead, 35-23, and forcing a Notre Dame timeout 90 seconds into the second half.
• A 10-2 scoring run by Notre Dame narrowed Duke’s deficit to single-digits, 44-38, and led to a Blue Devils’ timeout at the 12:28 mark. Out of the timeout, Duke’s defense held Notre Dame to just four points over the next five minutes and re-established a double-digit lead, 52-44, at the under-eight media timeout.
• Notre Dame narrowed Duke’s lead to just two, 62-60, on a three-pointer with 1:27 remaining in the game. After a free throw from Roach followed by a layup by the Fighting Irish, Mark Mitchell drilled his second three-pointer of the half with 11.0 seconds on the clock to make it a four-point game, 66-62. Two free throws by Tyrese Proctor iced the 68-64 win. 

NOTES

• Duke has won its first 13 home games this season as Scheyer now holds the ACC record outright for longest home winning streak by a first-year head coach. He was tied with North Carolina’s Hubert Davis (12 straight last season).
• The game was the 37th in the all-time series vs. Notre Dame, with Duke now leading, 29-8. In Durham, the series favors Duke, 10-2.
• Duke is now 6-1 this season in games decided by four points or fewer.
• For the season, Duke has now held 22 of 26 opponents to below their season scoring average, including nine to that team’s then season-low for points. Notre Dame scored 64 after entering the game averaging 71.0.
• Duke out-rebounded ND, 37-34, the 21st time in 26 games that Duke has had a rebounding advantage. Duke is now 17-4 this season when out-rebounding the opponent.
• Since the start of 2020-21 season, Duke is now 49-8 when out-rebounding the opponent.
• Duke was 13-of-15 (.867) at the free throw line for the game, including 5-of-6 in the game’s final 2:30. It was Duke’s second-best performance from the charity stripe in ACC play, behind 17-of-19 (.895) at Boston College on Jan. 7.
• Duke has now connected on at least one three-point field goal in 1,179 consecutive games – the nation’s second longest active streak.
• Duke is now 7-1 following a loss in 2022-23.
• Freshman Kyle Filipowski led Duke with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting with six rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.
• It is Filipowski’s third 20-point game this season – all have come in ACC play (29 at Virginia Tech, 28 vs. Pitt).
• Freshman Dariq Whitehead came off the bench to score nine points, hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range.
• Freshman Mark Mitchell scored eight points, including the game-clinching three-pointer that made it 66-62 with 11.0 seconds remaining.
• Graduate Ryan Young led Duke with eight rebounds (four offensive) and scored six points.
• Freshman Tyrese Proctor hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left to ice the victory, finishing with six points and tying for the team-high in assists (four).

QUOTES

• “I thought our defense was really good overall. I’m just proud of, each one of our guys. I thought at different points they all stepped up. Flip [Kyle Filipowski], coming off of a really tough game at Virginia to bounce back the way that he did, to carry the load throughout was huge. I thought Jeremy [Roach] had an offensive rebound when it went got tight, he got back in and scored, and that was a big play. For Mark Mitchell, I don’t think Mark has played his best as of late, and every day he gets 100 corner threes in and he works religiously on shooting before and after practice. Our coaches do a great job with him. So, to come back in late, they plug off of him in the corner, Jeremy kicks it to him. That is a big-time shot and that’s not the first time he has made a shot like that so really proud of him for sticking with it and making that play.” — head coach Jon Scheyer
• “I worked on that shot all week, and I’ve been in the gym late nights, after practice, before practice, so when the time came, my work showed. I just thank God that in the big moment I could step in and knock down that shot. I’ve been in a little bit of a slump lately, so it felt good to hit one like that, especially when you work on it a lot. Your work will eventually show. Whatever you do in the dark will eventually come to light, and it did in that moment.” — freshman forward Mark Mitchell

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