DURHAM, N.CDuke rebounded from a disastrous loss over the weekend at Georgetown with a win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the frontcourt-heavy squad that handed the Devils their second loss of the year in early January. The Devils took the long, arrhythmic, foul-heavy game with, well, rebounds and its best percentage performance from beyond the arc all season. Meanwhile, The Jackets’ foul troubleeight team fouls in the first seven minutes against a Duke team that’s shot above 77 percent from the charity stripe this seasonbenched its highest scorers, Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, for much of the first half.
Kyle Singler scored 30 points, besting his previous career high of 28 with eight three pointers, six of them coming in the second half. Mason Plumlee showed flashes of brilliance, too, piling on a rebound, a three-pointer (his second of the year) and a hard dunk during a crucial minute-long stretch late in the first half. Ryan Kelly added his first three since mid-December, and Lance Thomas led both teams in rebounds, grabbing 11 boards in another one of his impressive defensive stands.
“It was a high-level game, very physical,” said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewksi. “During all of that physicality, we didn’t turn it over.”
More soon.
