NC State gives Duke all it can handle
DURHAM — Whenever it appeared that Duke would pull away for good, NC State stormed back.
NC State and Duke went back and forth throughout the contest, but the Blue Devils combined strong long-range shooting — 14 of 28 on three-pointers — and strong concentration on NC State star junior point guard Anthony Barber to pull away for a 88-80 win on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Sophomore guard Grayson Allen led Duke with 28 points, thanks in part to making all 12 free throws and sinking four three-pointers. Freshman wing Luke Kennard added 26 points and another six three-pointers to help fuel the Duke offense.
Barber had to earn each and every one of his 26 points, plus six assists, and he played all 40 minutes, but dinged his wrist toward the end of the game. Sophomore power forward Abdul-Malik Abu fed off the attention given to Barber, and had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
“I think I’ll be all right, just a little bump up there,” said Barber, who had previously played with an injured wrist in November. “I fell and it bent. I had messed this wrist up a long time ago. I should be good.”
Duke swept the season series and improved to 17-6 overall and 6-4 in the ACC, and NC State fell to 12-12 overall and 2-9 in the league. The Wolfpack don’t want to hear about moral victories, but the team battled until the end.
“I’m disappointed for our guys, but what a basketball game to watch,” NCSU coach Mark Gottfried said. “What a game up and down. I thought both teams just absolutely played extremely hard and they answered us and we answered them.”
Cody Martin came through with back-to-back steals that led to him getting a dunk and then a layup and the Wolfpack were back in business, trailing 46-45 with 17:32 left in the game. Martin highlighted the 8-0 run and breathed new life into the Wolfpack.
Duke star freshman forward Brandon Ingram also picked up his third foul to start the second half. He stayed in the game and ended the 8-0 spurt with his second three-pointer of the game, but foul trouble and good defense slowed Ingram down. Ingram’s teammates were a different story.
Barber hit a three-pointer and Abu got a dunk off a Barber assist and NC State led 50-49 with 16:28 left in the game.
Duke regrouped and went on a devastating 18-4 run to open up a 67-54 lead with 10:42 minutes left in the game. Kennard hit three of his six three-pointers and scored 11 points during the run, and Allen added seven.
Duke only made two field goals the rest of the game, but made a living at the free-throw line. The Blue Devils shot 16 of 21 over the last 10:42.
“There was some calls that we felt were questionable and they got a lot of second-chance buckets,” Abu said. “We just made some mental errors.
“I feel like we are getting closer and closer to closing out these games and turning them into victories. We still have a lot of work to do.”
The free-throw parade was broken up by a devastating combination of Ingram going 2 of 3 at the free-throw line, but the Blue Devils getting the offensive rebound. That led to Allen draining a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 84-76 with 2:49 left. NC State couldn’t recover from that five-point play.
“They couldn’t really throw the knockout punch on us, but they tried,” Gottfried said. “Our guys just kept battling back. I couldn’t be more proud of our team.”
Duke tried to deliver a first-half knockout blow after freshman wing Luke Kennard hit two three-pointers against NCSU’s zone defense, and sophomore guard Grayson Allen got loose for a breakaway dunk to give the Blue Devils a 32-22 lead with 4:54 left.
NC State recovered down the stretch to keep within a comfortable margin at halftime, 41-35. The Blue Devils shot 53.6 percent from the field, including going 7 of 14 on three-pointers.
Allen had 28 points in the first meeting, and picked up where he left off. Allen and Kennard combined for 23 points in the first half and five three-pointers, plus Allen added four assists.
The first matchup featured more zone defense and chess match moves. The teams scrapped some of that. What didn’t change was Duke being completely focused on slowing down Barber.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski respects everything Barber brings to the table and hopes he is healthy for the upcoming stretch of games.
“That kid is really good,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m not NC State sports promotions here, but don’t judge how good a guy is by the record of his team. They are close to winning five more games. He gives them a chance to win every game. He’s the toughest out in the league.
“He’s responsible for a lot of points for that team. He’s very good.”
Barber had his three-game streak of 30-plus points snapped, but it might have been his best all-around game due to his ability to break down Duke’s defense and find Abu for easy dunks and layups.
“We started running our double high ball screen for him and he needed some more room to penetrate in there, but he just finds a way,” Gottfried said. “He has got great spirit and he just kept playing hard and made some phenomenal passes too when he penetrated.”
Duke rotated different defenders on to Barber, who was held in check with nine points and two assists in the first half. Barber was held scoreless until he hit a three-pointer with 5:39 left in the first half.
“I felt like I wasn’t going to score [in the first half] because I didn’t score,” Barber said. “It was tougher right now, but coach said to stay with it. I got into my groove and picked my spots, and started scoring the ball.”
Freshman small forward Maverick Rowan led the way for the Wolfpack with three three-pointers and 12 points, and that also included a four-point play. Rowan finished with 17 points and four three-pointers.
The Wolfpack shot 40.6 percent from the field in the first half, so being down just six points at halftime was an encouraging sign. Abu’s work on the offensive boards — four of his eight first half rebounds — also helped the cause. Abu had a matchup against Duke senior center Marshall Plumlee, who had at least four-five inches on him. Abu found the sledding a little easier when going around the Duke players on the boards, rather than over them on post moves.
NC State has the week off and returns to action Feb. 13 with a home game against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons lost to Florida State on Saturday and fell to 10-13 overall and 1-10 in the ACC. WFU topped NC State 77-74 on Jan. 10.
“We have to regroup and we are not going to hang our heads,” Gottfried said. “We will find a way to just shore up some things, but I am extremely proud of our competitive spirit today.”