CLEMSON, S.C. - It wasn't easy, and at times it wasn't pretty, but the men's basketball team finally has a win at Clemson.
The second-ranked Blue Devils ended a dubious streak Wednesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum with a 70-66 win over the Tigers, marking Duke's first win at Clemson in four tries.
Trajan Langdon and Chris Carrawell supplied the clutch baskets down the stretch and Shane Battier served notice with a tremendous defensive play in the game's final minute, as the Blue Devils (24-2, 13-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) outlasted the Tigers (15-11, 5-8 ACC) in a game that had all the trappings of a mid-March matchup.
"That was an NCAA-caliber game tonight," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It was a hard-fought battle and I'm very proud of our guys. We beat a great team-I have the utmost respect for them."
The Blue Devils built a 15-point lead midway through the second half, but Clemson, with its back against the wall for an NCAA tournament bid, came roaring back and turned the game's last six minutes into a possession-by-possession war. The Tigers did not claim the lead until the 1:30 mark, when Terrell McIntyre sank a pair of free throws to give them a 64-63 advantage.
Carrawell quickly erased the deficit, however, as he sprinted down the court and hit a short jumper in transition.
"I was determined to get down there and either get fouled or make the bucket," said Carrawell, who finished with 10 points.
Still, the momentum appeared to be in the Tigers' favor, as Johnny Miller made a spectacular pass to Harold Jamison for what would have been the go-ahead basket.
But Jamison, who had ripped Duke for 12 second-half points already, received a surprise on his way
"Battier amazes me," Duke's Steve Wojciechowski said. "Jamison is a physical specimen, and for Shane to up and block him like that is just great."
The Blue Devils worked the clock down on the following possession, until Wojciechowski found a streaking Langdon on a back-door cut. Langdon continued to the basket, collided with Jamison, banked in a shot and earned a trip to the free-throw line, as Jamison was called for a blocking foul.
"I thought I had position, but I guess the ref saw otherwise," Jamison said. "If it went the other way, it would have been a big play for us."
Clemson made a last-ditch effort, with Jamison rebounding a Greg Buckner miss with 10 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 68-66.
Duke had trouble inbounding the ball but finally got it to Carrawell, who was fouled immediately. Carrawell, a 67-percent free-throw shooter on the season, drained both attempts from the stripe.
"I just shot and prayed," Carrawell said. "I tried not to look at the crowd behind the basket because they were kind of wild like the [Cameron] Crazies back at home."
The Blue Devils played most of the second half without Roshown McLeod, who was their go-to offensive player in the first half. McLeod poured in 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting before intermission, but played only 11 minutes in the second frame, picking up three quick fouls and then fouling out with 5:27 remaining.
With McLeod sidelined, the Blue Devils turned to their other proven clutch scorer, Langdon. After scoring just two of Duke's first 46 points, Langdon turned in 15 of the next 22 Blue Devil points.
"Langdon was huge tonight," Krzyzewski said. "We went to him exclusively on four or five straight plays and he responded. We improvised with him tonight and had him playing in a lot of different roles."
Langdon, usually a dangerous three-point shooter, did most of his damage at the free-throw line and with mid-range running jumpers. His scoring outburst was reminiscent of his game against Clemson in Cameron late last year, when he erupted for a career-high 34 points, despite making only three three-pointers.
"For Trajan, it was a big-time night by a big-time player," Wojciechowski said. "And it wasn't like Clemson was giving him any open looks. He had to work for everything he got."
The Tigers got the kind of game they had hoped for, forcing Duke into a physical, down-to-the-wire contest. In the second half, Clemson dictated the game defensively, holding the Blue Devils to 32-percent shooting while hitting more than 50 percent of its field goal attempts. That contrasted with the first half, during which Duke knocked down 60 percent of its shots while the Tigers managed only 33-percent shooting.
McIntyre was the lone Tiger to get it going in the first frame, collecting nine points, but disappeared in the second half, hitting just the two late free throws. Clemson's other two big guns were also largely silenced, as Buckner had just 12 points and Miller shot 0-for-6 from the floor.
The Tigers now must sweep their remaining three ACC contests to finish .500 in the conference and lock up an NCAA bid. They face a trip to Virginia Saturday, a road game at N.C. State and a home finale against Georgia Tech.
Duke returns to Cameron this Sunday to face No. 12 UCLA in a non-conference showdown.
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