CLEMSON, S.C.– No. 24 Duke held a lead with less than eight minutes to play at Clemson, but an offensive surge helped the Tigers (15-3, 7-0) defeat the Blue Devils (13-5, 4-3) on Saturday evening, 72-64, at Littlejohn Coliseum. Duke was led by Kyle Filipowski, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, his second double-double in as many games and eighth on the year. The freshman was joined by his classmate Tyrese Proctor in double-figures, who scored a career-high 17 points and graduate Ryan Young who scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ryan Young got Duke on the board with a driving layup and the Blue Devils trailed by just three, 5-2, at the first media timeout of the evening.
- Freshmen scored Duke’s next 13 points of the game, with Kyle Filipowski contributing seven points, Mark Mitchell scoring four points and Dariq Whitehead adding a layup. The Blue Devils trailed, 20-17, with just over six minutes remaining in the first half.
- Tyrese Proctor scored six straight points to give Duke its first lead of the game, 23-20, forcing a Clemson timeout with 4:47 on the clock.
- The Blue Devils ended the half with three free throws from Jaylen Blakes and held a 34-30 advantage after the first 20 minutes of action.
- Filipowski became the first player in double figures with a two-handed slam less than two minutes into the second half. The freshman finished off his eighth double-double, and second in as many games, shortly after with a defensive rebound.
- An 8-0 run by the Tigers knotted the score at 44 apiece at the 12:21 mark. The Blue Devils responded with a 6-0 scoring burst of their own to reclaim the lead, 52-47, to cause a Clemson timeout with 9:31 left to play.
- Clemson held a slight advantage, 58-56, at the final media timeout of the game. Filipowski connected on one of two free throws coming out of the break to make it a one-point game with 3:57 remaining.
NOTES
- Duke held a 39-37 rebounding advantage, including a 15-10 edge in offensive rebounds. It marks the 14th time in 18 games this season that Duke out-rebounded an opponent.
- Duke is now 12-2 this season when out-rebounding the opponent and 10-2 with an advantage in offensive rebounds.
- Duke held a 20-10 advantage in second-chance scoring.
- Clemson scored 72 points – four points below its season average – and for the season, Duke has held 16 of 18 to below their season scoring average. Duke is now 13-3 when holding an opponent to below its season scoring average.
- Duke held Clemson to 3-of-17 from three-point range – matching the fewest threes made by Clemson this season and Clemson’s second lowest percentage in a game – both were ACC lows for Clemson.
- Duke has now connected on at least one three-point field goal in 1,171 consecutive games – the nation’s second longest active streak.
- Freshman Kyle Filipowski recorded his eighth double-double with a team-high 18 points and game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive rebounds).
- Filipowski has scored 46 points and grabbed 29 rebounds over his last two games.
- Over Duke’s last four games – which has included three road games – Filipowski is averaging 18.8 points and 11.5 rebounds and shooting .417 in that stretch.
- Freshman Tyrese Proctor scored a career-high 17 points with five rebounds in 37 minutes.
QUOTES
- “They (Clemson) played great. Especially in that second half, I think it came down to them getting in our paint too easily. Back and forth the whole way, I thought it was a great game. Both teams struggled to shoot. Disappointed for our guys, thought we were ready to play, thought we fought, thought we were right there.” — head coach Jon Scheyer
- “I think they were better than us in just about everything in the last four minutes. Offensively, they got to the rim, they got rebounds when they needed to, and they made us take tough shots in the last four, they made all their free throws. I thought we played 36 good minutes of basketball, and the last four, we just didn’t compete as hard as them the last four.” — graduate Ryan Young
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