ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Blue Devils did what many other ACC teams have been unable to do of late--they won on the road.
Top-ranked Duke (18-1, 7-0 in the ACC) defeated No. 14 Georgia Tech
(16-4, 4-3) Saturday 82-74 after making a late surge the Yellow Jackets were unable to match.
With Saturday's win, the 15th consecutive for Duke in the series and overall, the Blue Devils are now 4-0 on the road in the conference--all eight other ACC teams have only won a combined five games away from home this season. If they can win Thursday at North Carolina, the Blue Devils will finish the first half of the ACC schedule without a blemish and be the only team do to so in the nation's top conference.
Against the Ramblin' Wreck, a combination of Chris Duhon's leadership, Luol Deng's offensive production, tenacity on the boards and timely three pointers by J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing catalyzed Duke toward the end of the contest.
"They gave us a real good run today," Ewing said. "They played real well, and fortunately we played better down the stretch."
With the Yellow Jackets nursing a 66-64 advantage at the six-minute mark, Shavlik Randolph put down an emphatic dunk, and on the ensuing possession made a short turnaround jumper.
Next, Georgia Tech's Luke Schenscher--who scored 18 points and was praised by head coach Mike Krzyzewski for his performance--earned a chance at a conventional three-point play, but missed the free throw.
The Blue Devils capitalized, as Redick collected a tipped pass off a missed free throw by Deng behind the arc and pump faked, allowed the Georgia Tech defender to fly by him and nailed his third trey of the contest.
"We were tired and that shot just kind of lifted us up," Krzyzewski said.
After a TV timeout, Ewing deflated the Yellow Jackets and their boisterous fans--who camped out the previous night in order to earn the best seats--as the junior shooting guard quickly sunk an open three from the corner.
And despite not shooting well, Duhon kept the Blue Devils under control, playing all 40 minutes and dishing out nine assists. The senior point guard was especially instrumental in holding the usually speedy and productive Yellow Jackets' fast break to eight points.
"I thought Duhon did a great job of just keeping us together," Krzyzewski said.
Propelled by a number of Blue Devil turnovers, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 17-10 advantage early in an emotionally-charged contest.
The boiling point came in the first half, when Redick and B.J. Elder began wrestling over the ball directly in front of the Yellow Jackets' bench, despite the fact that the play had already been whistled dead. Redick, who had been stripped by Elder, regained possession of the ball, though his back and head were out of bounds.
Regardless, Elder attempted to rip the ball from Redick's hands, perhaps unaware the whistle had been blown. Neither player would relinquish the ball, however, as Elder shoved Redick in the chest with his forearm, prompting Ewing to come to Redick's aid. Georgia Tech reserve Robert Brooks then stepped onto the floor and entered the fray. The scrap was then quickly ceased by the referees and players.
Following a five-minute review and discussion by the officials, Redick and Ewing were charged with technical fouls, along with Elder and Brooks. Brooks was subsequently thrown out of the game for leaving the bench.
The foul was the third on Redick, forcing him to sit out the remaining 11 minutes of the half.
The fight seemed to galvanize Duke, which scored 11 straight points following the scuffle, most coming in the paint as Shelden Williams battled his way to a 14-point first half.
"I think after the scuffle we took deep breaths, and were like 'let's go,' Duhon said. "It was like, win or lose, we're going to give these guys whatever we have. The next thing you know we were back in [the game]."
Duke would eventually take a five-point lead into the locker room.
Deng played well in both halves en route to a career-high 22 points. Playing 36 minutes, second to only Duhon for the Blue Devils, the freshman also collected 10 rebounds.
"That was Luol's best game," Krzyzewski said. "For a freshman to do that, get a double-double here, was sensational."
The atmosphere inside Alexander Memorial Coliseum was hostile as excited Georgia Tech fans tried to push their team to victory. On several occasions play had to be suspended as fans threw objects onto the court. The sellout crowd of 9,191 was warned that if the behavior continued the Yellow Jackets would be charged with a technical foul.
"I thought our crowd gave us a really good lift," head coach Paul Hewitt said. "Our students were great and we had a loud building. They gave us a really big lift at the beginning of the game. I just wish we could have given them more at the end."
After the game Krzyzewski was impressed with his team's resiliency, especially on the road.
"We feel fortunate to win, I think we earned it, but Georgia Tech could have sat here and said they won and that they earned it," Krzyzewski said.
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