Duke entered Wednesday night's game against Georgia Tech as the loser of its last three road games starting at a schedule that includes three of its four final games away from Cameron Indoor Stadium
ATLANTA — In an ugly, ugly game, all it takes to win is an exceptional performance from a single individual. With Daniel Ewing and DeMarcus Nelson handcuffed by four fouls, J.J. Redick blanketed by 6-foot-7 Anthony McHenry, and Sean Dockery sitting on the sideline with a sprained knee, Duke was quickly running out of heroes to turn to with the game on the line.
When no one was left to rescue the team from the Yellow Jackets (15-9, 6-7 in the ACC) Lee Melchionni became the Blue Devils’ messiah.
Melchionni—whom head coach Mike Krzyzewski later heralded as Duke’s “unsung hero”—had a wretched first half and shot 1-for-5 from the field in the first 20 minutes.
That did not stop the junior from shooting, however, and leading Duke to a 60-56 win.
With six minutes remaining, it appeared as if Melchionni would dig the offense-deprived Blue Devils (20-4, 10-4) into an even deeper hole when he air-balled an ill-advised three-point attempt.
On the next two shots, Melchionni would not miss.
Three minutes after the air ball, the Blue Devils found themselves in a tied game. Nelson—witnessing a sputtering Duke offense that ended the night shooting 33.9 percent from the field—decided to make a strong move to the hoop.
The freshman drove down the baseline, and instead of finding the basket, he ran straight into a double team. Thinking quickly, Nelson spun around and dished the ball to a wide-open Melchionni. He nailed the three from the right corner.
With a little more than a minute and a half left to play, Melchionni found himself setting a screen for Redick.
The two Georgia Tech players chased after Redick, but neither followed Melchionni. He set up camp at the top of the 3-point line and nailed the shot in the face of the slow-to-react Georgia Tech defense.
The shot put Duke up by five, and the Yellow Jackets would never recover.
“It’s tough when a player goes three-for-10 and all three of his shots are huge shots from behind the arc,” Georgia Tech point guard Jarrett Jack said after the game. “It’s tough to swallow. They have their three big guns in Shelden Williams, Daniel Ewing and Redick, but their supporting cast just do a great job of stepping up. It was a pick-and-roll situation, and we tried to help, but Melchionni just caught that pass and made the three anyway.”
The moment he released those two shots, the junior knew his days of ugly attempts were over.
“The air balls I knew were short,” Melchionni said. “Those last ones I just let go, and they ended up going down and it felt great.”
Melchionni’s contribution is even more crucial when one takes into consideration the impotence of the rest of the Duke offense. Redick, who attempted only three three-point shots in the second half, praised Melchionni’s courage when the game was on the line.
“I was so proud of Lee,” Redick said. “I talk to him all the time about having a killer instinct. For him to step up and do that was just great. It showed a lot of guts.”
With Krzyzewski forced to count on yet another round of passionate performances from walk-ons Patrick Davidson and Patrick Johnson, and with the Blue Devils truly struggling out of the set offense, Melchionni provided the lone offensive spark for Duke in the second half. Ewing continued Redick’s “True Grit” accolades.
“Real gutty plays by him,” the senior said. “It showed all the confidence and poise that he had in his shot.”
Most importantly, Melchionni did not retreat into modesty after the game. He admitted that he made a conscious effort to take control of the contest.
“With guys in foul trouble and guys having trouble shooting the ball, it just gave me a chance to step up,” Melchionni said. “It’s just what I had to do today.”
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