WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Last year's Duke team lost nine games. The Blue Devils avenged one of the losses Wednesday, holding off Wake Forest 73-65 in a game that very much resembled the teams' last meeting March 5, 2014.
Duke had a five-point lead with seven minutes to go in that game, but Jabari Parker was saddled with foul trouble and could only watch as the Demon Deacons reeled off 17 consecutive points to earn the come-from-behind 82-72 win.
Wednesday, Wake Forest again made a late surge. But the Blue Devils responded in an entirely different way.
"We just knew what happened last year and wanted to put it behind us," sophomore guard Matt Jones said. "Obviously it's in the back of your head, them storming the court and stuff. You don't want that picture. None of the returners did."
After the Demon Deacons overcame a nine-point deficit and took a two-point lead on Codi Miller-McIntyre's free throws with 5:47 to go, Duke used a 12-2 run to propel itself back to a 67-59 lead. Jones scored all five of his points during that span.
Duke's starting trio of freshmen—Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow—weren't around for last season's collapse in Winston-Salem, but they knew the importance of finishing strong against a hungry opponent.
"We didn't want to be a team where they went on a run and we backed down," Tyus Jones said. "As freshmen, [the returners] let us know that that hurt last year."
Last March's collapse was hardly the only second-half debacle for the Blue Devils, meaning Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson and the returning core will have many more chances to exact revenge one year later.
Their next chance comes Jan. 28 at No. 13 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish beat Duke 79-77 in South Bend, Ind., last year in the Blue Devils' ACC opener.
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