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Duke Gets Hot Late, Dominates NC State at Home

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

DURHAM, N.C. – The NC State men’s basketball could not complete a season sweep of 12th-ranked Duke, falling to the Blue Devils, 88-69, Monday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

With the loss, NC State falls to 18-2, 9-10 in the ACC while Duke improves to 24-6, 14-5 in the ACC.

The Pack had a balanced scoring attack with five players reaching double figures. C.J. Bryce, Devon Daniels, and Jericole Hellems all led NC State with 14 points. Markell Johnson and D.J. Funderburk each added 11 points.

Daniels led NC State with nine rebounds and Funderburk but added seven boards, but Duke outrebounded the Pack, 46-27.

Freshman forward Vernon Carey Jr. added 17 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 63% after halftime and had a run of 17 straight scoring possessions to build a big lead. Duke also dominated the Wolfpack on the glass (46-27), while its move away from its man and pressure defenses to deploy a zone late in the first half took N.C. State out of its early aggressive rhythm.

It was quite a reversal for the Blue Devils, who lost the first meeting 88-66 in Raleigh less than two weeks ago for Mike Krzyzewski’s most lopsided loss to an unranked opponent in his four decades leading the program. It was also a welcome response after back-to-back losses on the road.

Duke had six players score in double figures, led by Cassius Stanley with 18 points. 

NC State jumped out to a 7-2 lead and stayed in the lead for the majority of the first half. The Blue Devils didn’t take its first lead of the game until a Justin Robinson dunk gave Duke a 25-23 lead with 6:43 to go until halftime. The Pack responded with a 9-0 run to take a 32-25 lead, but Duke closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 38-36 lead into the break.

NC State led 46-44 early in the second half, but Duke went on a 15-3 run to take a 59-49 lead and the Pack never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Duke had a 25-6 advantage in fast break points.

Duke will return home to face rival North Carolina on Saturday night at 6 p.m. NC State closes the regular season Friday night when it hosts Wake Forest at PNC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

(Photos by Lawrence Davis III)