In what is becoming a trend for Duke, turnovers late in the game allowed its opponent to slowly chip away at its second half lead. This time, however, the Blue Devils were able to come away with the 79-71 win as the Demon Deacons' comeback attempt fell short.
All but one player of the Duke lineup got on the score sheet Tuesday night, and with this balanced offense No. 4 Duke (26-4, 13-2 in the ACC) successfully navigated a tricky road test despite a strong showing from fifth-year senior Nikita Mescheriakov, who had 18 points in his final home game.
Ryan Kelly, who has enjoyed success against Wake Forest (13-16, 4-11) this season, led Duke with a season-high 23 points in the win, also pulling down seven rebounds. In the previous meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium the junior recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Blue Devils fell behind early after some inside looks from the Demon Deacons' Travis McKie and Mescheriakov, and failed to score a field goal of their own for the first three minutes. Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the Duke offense, which finished the half 7-of-12 from long range.
Kelly was scoreless through the first 10 minutes of play, but then scored five straight points for the Blue Devils. His first basket was a fluid turnaround baseline jumper, and on the next possession he connected from beyond the arc to push Duke’s lead to 10 points.
Mescheriakov doubled his season scoring average in the first half alone, finishing the period with 13 points and helping the Demon Deacons keep pace with the Blue Devils. The first period ended 39-28.
Out of the locker room, the Blue Devils were able to keep Mescheriakov in check, holding the fifth-year senior scoreless until 5:33 remained on the clock. Duke extended its lead to 23 points, but Wake Forest climbed back behind Tony Chennault, who scored 17 points in the half.
The Demon Deacons put together a run that cut the lead to six points with 4:55 to play, which breathed life into Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Kelly responded with a powerful running hook shot off the glass, but Wake Forest refused to go away quietly. The game, which had once seemed over, was now delicately balanced standing 72-66 with less than two minutes to play. But time ran out on the Demon Deacons in the end, as the team traded baskets down the stretch.
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