Eleven of the men's basketball team's 14 losses this season have been by seven points or less. But Wednesday night, the Blue Devils were able to turn the tables, beating Florida State 72-67 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils improved to 12-14 (2-12 in the Atlantic Coast Conference), while FSU dropped to 12-12, 5-9.
The win didn't come easily. It seemed that Duke was headed for another close late-game situation when its 16-point lead with 5:34 remaining was slowly chiseled down to just four points in the last 33 seconds.
"I thought `I don't want this to happen again,"' senior center Erik Meek said.
Unlike in recent games, however, where Duke has been unable to come up with the big shots necessary to win, key free throws by seniors Kenny Blakeney and Cherokee Parks in the last minute of the game helped the team preserve the victory. Duke, which has the second-worst free-throw shooting percentage in the ACC, came up big in the second half, connecting on 17-of-23 free throw attempts.
`The first half was marked by turnovers. Duke finished the half with 12, while FSU recorded 11. Although the numbers were close, Duke was unable to convert these turnovers into points, while FSU took advantage of Duke's mistakes to score 16 points.
Despite the turnovers, Duke played tough defense to keep the Seminoles in check and end the half up 35-29.
"In the first half, we had a six-point lead and we were happy with that," acting head coach Pete Gaudet said. "The first half was a success for us, but obviously it wasn't an artistic half."
FSU opened the second half with a steal and a dunk by Seminole guard James Collins. But the Blue Devils charged back with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes. With Duke up 50-35, Seminole head coach Pat Kennedy called a timeout at the 15:34 mark in an attempt to slow Duke's momentum, but Florida State could do little to erase the lead. Over the next 10 minutes, FSU could get no closer than 11 points.
One factor in FSU's struggles was the stellar play of Parks. Seventeen of his game-high 25 points came in the second half, including 10-of-11 shooting on free-throws.
&"We need Cherokee in the game because he's our best player," sophomore guard Jeff Capel said. "He made some big baskets, got some big rebounds for us and hit some big free throws. That's what he's been doing all year."
Parks was in foul trouble throughout the game. He picked up his third foul with 39 seconds to go in the first half, and his fourth came with 10:17 to play in the game. But the Seminoles couldn't capitalize on Parks' foul trouble.
"When Cherokee had his fourth foul, we kept trying to get it inside," Kennedy said. "We tried to take it to the basket and we couldn't get the other foul.
"We couldn't allow them to keep taking us out of our offense, so we went back to a more balanced attack."
Capel was also a factor against the Seminoles, scoring 14 points and dishing out six assists. Yet Capel's biggest contribution came in his defensive efforts, as he led the team with five steals.
"Jeff Capel made a lot of big shots against us in Tallahassee [when FSU won 78-75 on Jan. 21], and we were concerned about him again tonight," Kennedy said.
zThe Seminoles finally found their offensive attack in the final five minutes of the game. Seven-foot senior Andre Reid only scored six points, but all of these came when FSU needed them most, including two decisive dunks within 12 seconds of each other.
Senior Bob Sura, who finished the game with a team-high 24 points, then sunk two free throws after a Blakeney foul, cutting the Duke lead to four points at 68-64. Sura then returned the favor by fouling Blakeney, and the senior guard made both freebies, stretching the lead back to six with 32 seconds remaining.
Parks hit both of his shots after being fouled by Reid, but a three-pointer from NBA range by Seminole freshman LaMarr Greer brought FSU within five points. But with only eight seconds remaining, the Seminoles were out of time.
"However ragged it was, we won," freshman Ricky Price said. "Even if it was the ugliest game in America, I'd still take the win."
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