Duke 69, North Carolina 53 (final): North Carolina kept the pressure on Duke right up until the end, but Duke would not be denied tonight in Chapel Hill. Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry lead the way for Duke all night tonight.
Duke 67, North Carolina 49 (3:09, second half): North Carolina refused to give in despite the lopsided score. The Tar Heels kept the pressure on Duke defensively and used a well-timed three-pointer by P.J. Hairston—his first of the game—to cut Duke's lead to 14 with 5:00 to play. Duke underwent a stretch greater than seven minutes without a field goal before Quinn Cook made a pretty floater.
Duke 61, North Carolina 42 (7:42, second half): The Blue Devils increased their defensive intensity after the media timeout, not wanting to allow the Tar Heels to claw back into the game. Nonetheless, North Carolina slowly but surely chipped away at the lead. Both teams are beginning to commit more fouls, as a result of the physical play under the basket.
Duke 58, North Carolina 36 (10:48, second half): North Carolina came out of the media timeout rejuvenated, scoring four unanswered points and forcing a couple Duke turnovers before Krzyzewski called a time out to reign in his team. The three seniors shared the offense for Duke during this stretch, with each player adding two points.
Duke 52, North Carolina 30 (15:44, second half): Reggie Bullock wasted no time in the second half getting his first points of the game with a nice layup. He had missed all four of his attempts in the first period of play but already has two hoops this half. Mason Plumlee, who was quiet compared to Curry in the first half, was featured early and often in the second half, scoring all 10 Duke points of the half. He now has 18 points, tied with Curry for the game-high.
Duke 42, North Carolina 24 (halftime): Trying to create his own shot Ryan Kelly picked up his third foul on a charging violation, much to the delight of the Tar Heel faithful. Neither team could find their offense through the end of the half, though second chance layups gave North Carolina a couple of easy points. Seth Curry regained his shooting touch with a straight away three to give him 18 points on the night, leading all scorers. Rasheed Sulaimon scored his first point of the game by going 1-for-2 from the free throw line. It was all Duke all through the first half.
Duke 38, North Carolina 18 (3:49, first half): Neither team could get anything going after the media timeout, with both clubs misfiring from both long range and inside. Quinn Cook provided a spark for Duke with a pretty backdoor layup followed by a corner three. He had scored eight straight for the Blue Devils before a Mason Plumlee hook shot fell. Reggie Bullock has yet to score for the Tar Heels.
Duke 31, North Carolina 16 (7:06, first half): With Curry on the bench Duke needed to find offense from a different source. When nobody stepped up, head coach Mike Krzyzewski turned back to his senior guard, though Curry had cooled off while resting. Ryan Kelly picked up his second personal foul with 8:46 remaining in the half, bumping into P.J. Hairston while he attempted a three-pointer. Hairston would hit all three of his free throws. Duke's only points this stretch came via a Quinn Cook triple.
Duke 28, North Carolina 11 (10:10, first half): McAdoo found his offensive game after the media time out, opening up the first two possessions with a smooth jump shot and a dunk around Mason Plumlee. With no one but McAdoo having any success on the offensive end, Duke was able to stay in complete control of the game. It wasn't until 12:39 remaining in the first half that P.J. Hairston finally put in the first non-McAdoo points of the night for North Carolina with a pair of free throws. Desmond Hubert's put-back dunk with just under 11 minutes to play in the half was the first field goal made by a Tar Heel not named McAdoo. Seth Curry is carrying the load for Duke offensively, scoring 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting, including a shot he made while sitting on the ground.
Duke 14, North Carolina 1 (15:54, first half): Duke got off to a red-hot start, scoring the first 12 points of the contest on 5-for-5 shooting before Tar Heels' head coach Roy Williams called time out to give his team a much needed breather. The time out did nothing to cool off the Blue Devils' hot shooting, though James Michael McAdoo finally put North Carolina on the board with one free throw. Duke shot 6-of-7 from the field during the first four minutes of the game.
Duke Starters: G Quinn Cook, G Seth Curry, G Tyler Thornton, F Ryan Kelly, F Mason Plumlee
North Carolina Starters: G Frank Tanner, G Dexter Strickland, G P.J. Hairston, F Reggie Bullock, F James Micahel McAdoo
Pregame: The Chronicle is reporting live from the Dean Smith Center to bring you all the latest from tonight's game between Duke and North Carolina, tipping off at 9 p.m. The Blue Devils are coming off a win against Virginia Tech Tuesday night in what was the final home game for the trio of seniors, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, and Seth Curry. The Tar Heels meanwhile, are in the midst of a six game winning streak that started after losing to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium last month. The move to a smaller lineup which includes starting sophomore P.J. Hairston has revitalized a struggling North Carolina team. Follow along here and on twitter @dukebasketball for live updates all night long.
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