CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Top-ranked Duke found itself down in the second half of its Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament opener, battling with an injury-altered rotation and facing a surging team playing fearlessly since late January.
The Blue Devils passed that test — barely.
Duke rallied from eight down in the second half to take the lead, then hung on for a final-play defensive stop to edge Florida State 80-79 in Thursday night's quarterfinal. It
offered the first glimpse of how these Blue Devils will look since losing starting point guard Caleb Foster for an extended period, as well as playing without fellow starter Patrick Ngongba II up front this week.
“I just tried to get them to look at it as an opportunity,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “It was a true opportunity for me to be down eight and see what we’re all about in that moment.”
The Blue Devils (30-2) got big nights from sophomore guard Isaiah Evans going for 32 points while star freshman Cameron Boozer added 23 points and 10 rebounds. And there were plenty of the familiar for a Duke team that had pummeled opponents inside in its rise to No. 1, with the Blue Devils finishing with a 46-25 rebounding advantage that included 22 offensive boards and 24 second-chance points.
It all helped them rally from a 59-51 deficit on the strength of a 19-2 run.
Foster suffered a fracture in his right foot in last weekend's win against rival North Carolina. He had surgery Sunday and listened to the huddle resting his boot-covered leg on a knee scooter. Meanwhile, Ngongba had his own right boot and scooter due to foot soreness that will keep him out this week in Charlotte.
That thrust freshman point guard Cayden Boozer into the starting lineup for the fifth time all season. It also meant more playmaking duties for freshman wings Nik Khamenia and Dame Sarr, as well as the bigger Cameron Boozer up top in a collective approach.
The 6-foot-8 Khamenia, who played point among multiple positions in high school, said he got one practice this week with the added work at the point.
“Coach Scheyer told me yesterday in practice that I'm a guy he can put in a lot of different positions, and he trusts me in that spot,” said Khamenia, who had nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
Cayden Boozer had an up-and-down night, taking an early seat with two fouls then going 0 for 5 on 3-pointers when frequently left alone by the Seminoles' defense. But he came up with the basket that ultimately provided the winning margin, slipping inside on a missed boxout to snag Evans' missed 3 and score on a stickback with 61 seconds left.
“I have confidence, I feel like I've gotten better the entire year,” said Cayden Boozer, who matched Khamenia's nine points. “Obviously this was a big learning point for me today. So I'm going to use the experience and just be better for my guys.”
Florida State, meanwhile, was more than eager to test the shuffled Blue Devils.
First-year coach Luke Loucks had guided FSU from an 0-5 ACC start to win 10 of 12 since late January. He wanted to pressure Duke more defensively, and the Seminoles (18-15) switched looks from man to zone to full-court pressure in hopes of disrupting Duke's rhythm and offsetting its edge in the paint.
And with a 3-point heavy scheme, the Seminoles kept capitalizing to build a 59-51 lead on Robert McCray V's step-into-the-look 3 from the wing with 13:12 left.
“To the guys' credit, they believed that we could turn the season around," Loucks told The Associated Press afterward. "They believed that we could beat anyone in the country. When you have that belief and it's backed up by real work, anything can happen.”
And it nearly did.
After weathering Duke's go-ahead run, FSU whittled a nine-point hole to a single point, then got Alex Steen's late block on Cameron Boozer's corner shot to get one more chance at the win.
McCray, who finished with 25 points, pushed the ball up the court and crossed the midcourt line with about 5 seconds left with top Duke defender Sarr backpedaling ahead of him. McCray pulled up, dribbled behind his back and launched a stepback 3 for the win as Sarr extended his arm to close out.
The ball clanged off the back of the rim, followed quickly by the horn to send McCray walking to the other end of the court with his jersey pulled over his face in dismay.
The reigning ACC Tournament champ would play another night.
“You've got a chance to show true character, what it's all about when you're down,” Scheyer said. “I thought we did that.”
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