Duke holds off furious Carolina comeback
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and No. 1 Duke held off a furious second half rally by North Carolina to beat its rival for the third time this season, 74-71 on Friday night to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and No. 1 Duke held off a furious second half rally by North Carolina to beat its rival for the third time this season, 74-71 on Friday night to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
Khaman Maluach added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Sion James had 12 points for the Blue Devils, who played without star Cooper Flagg.
Duke (30-3) will play the winner of the second semifinal between No. 10 Clemson and No. 13 Louisville in the title game.
After North Carolina cut a 24-point, second-half deficit to one, Ven-Allen Lubin had two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to potentially give the Tar Heels (22-13) the lead. But he missed the first and had the second made free throw waved off after teammate Jae’Lyn Withers stepped in the lane too early.
Knueppel made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left and Lubin missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
It’s the first time since 2001-02 that Duke has beaten North Carolina three times in a season. The Blue Devils swept the Tar Heels in the regular season that year and then beat them in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals en route to winning the national championship.
Lubin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina.
Withers’ lane violation adds improbable twist to failed comeback
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina nearly completed a comeback from a 24-point deficit against top-ranked Duke in the ACC tournament, only to see it slip away on the most unusual of mistakes.
With the Tar Heels trailing by one with 4.1 seconds left, Jae’Lyn Withers committed a lane violation to negate Ven-Allen Lubin’s tying free throw. The Blue Devils then closed out a 74-71 win in Friday night’s semifinals.
Withers, a graduate forward who had helped lead the Tar Heels’ final-month surge to revive their NCAA Tournament hopes, stepped into the paint with his right foot as he tried to be ready to get the jump on any potential rebound. The whistle blew for the violation as Lubin’s shot dropped through the net.
Takeaways
North Carolina: The Tar Heels simply don’t have the size to match up with the Blue Devils, but showed plenty of heart with the comeback Duke: The Blue Devils showed they have plenty of punch and more than enough defense despite being without Flagg and top reserve Maliq Brown.
Key moment
Withers stepping the lane too early was a monumental mistake.
Key stat
UNC started the second half 15 of 24 from the field.
Up next
Duke will play the winner of No. 10 Clemson-No. 13 Louisville winner in the championship. UNC hopes it has done enough to get an NCAA Tournament berth.
