SENT PACKING: No. 2 Duke upset on the road by N.C. State 87-75

RALEIGH, N.C.—Duke's backcourt had outplayed its counterpart in every game this season.

Not Sunday.

Ralston Turner poured in three triples in the first five minutes of the second half to help turn a close game into a rout, as N.C. State dealt No. 2 Duke its first loss of the season, an 87-75 defeat Sunday afternoon at PNC Arena.

Turner combined with redshirt junior Trevor Lacey to score 37 points, pouring in 12 of their 22 field goal attempts. Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon combined for 21 points for Duke, but Matt Jones and Tyus Jones went just 2-of-13 from the field.

"We let them get comfortable," freshman Justise Winslow said. "We didn't set the tempo, we didn't pressure them as much as we could, and they were able to get a rhythm and get it going."

Sophomore Matt Jones made his first start of the season and was assigned to keep tabs on Lacey, but the redshirt junior got off to a hot start and never slowed down. Lacey made his first four shots—including a pair of triples—and had 10 points halfway through the opening period. The Alabama transfer finished with 21 points.

Trailing at halftime for the first time all season, Duke (14-1, 2-1 in the ACC) clawed back to within 50-48, but the Wolfpack (12-5, 3-1) bolted ahead on a 16-4 run to go up 66-52 with 7:01 remaining. The lead would grow as large as 19 before the Blue Devils mounted a comeback bid.

A 3-pointer by Quinn Cook cut the lead to 72-64 with 3:07 remaining, as Duke used an 11-0 run and three N.C. State turnovers to make things interesting. But a follow-up jam by sophomore BeeJay Anya on a Turner 3-point attempt with 2:20 remaining put the Wolfpack back up by double-digits.

From there, N.C. State hit free throws and got some late transition baskets to close out the win and send hundreds of students spilling onto the court when the buzzer sounded.

"It was irritating because we all sensed it," Sulaimon said. "We just have to be more mentally tough and come together quicker as a team. We finally did come together, but we have to come together quicker as a team and get ourselves out of that funk when we sense it happening instead of waiting for it."

The Wolfpack front line feasted down low Sunday, outscoring Duke 40-26 in the paint on high-percentage shot after high-percentage shot. Six of freshman Abdul-Malik Abu's eight points came via the dunk; Anya camped out down low and scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and swatted four shots.

"When one or two guys who are your staple guys are on, it makes everybody better," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "That's what Lacey and Turner do for their team. When they're [making shots], everybody's better."

The Blue Devils led for most of the first half, but forward Kyle Washington scored on three consecutive possessions for a personal 7-0 run that put the Wolfpack ahead 34-29.

The 87 points allowed were a season-high for a Duke defense that had surrendered 70 points or more just twice entering Sunday's game. The Wolfpack shot 55 percent from the floor, prompting junior captain Amile Jefferson to question the team's toughness on the defensive end.

"We've got to play with a greater sense of urgency. We did a little bit down the stretch when we had to—we've just got to be a stronger team," Jefferson said. "Forget the offensive end, we've got to take pride in not letting people score on us.... We started to fold, and I haven't seen that from this team before. That's not this team."

For the second consecutive game, freshman Jahlil Okafor faced hounding double-teams from the Wolfpack frontcourt. N.C. State's length bothered Duke inside all afternoon, particularly the 6-foot-9 Washington and the 7-foot-9 wingspan of Anya. The Wolfpack blocked 10 shots and prevented the freshman center from finding much room to maneuver in the lane, but Okafor still finished with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds.

The double-teams on Okafor forced Duke to settle for 3-pointers, and the Blue Devils could not keep pace with the Wolfpack from beyond the arc. Duke hoisted 26 shots from long-range but connected on just seven—Lacey and Turner combined for nine of N.C. State's 10 triples.

"I thought we missed some shots," Krzyzewski said. "I thought we handled [the double-team] well. It's better if you knock them down.... I thought we took good shots."

Jones started in place of Jefferson—Duke's first lineup change of the season—as Winslow slid to the power forward slot. The small lineup didn't pay off, as Jones missed all three of his shots in the first half and the Wolfpack starting backcourt poured in 18 points. When the Blue Devils returned to the floor after intermission, Jefferson was re-inserted into the starting five.

N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said his team looked to exploit the smaller Duke lineup, allowing Abu and Washington to post up against the smaller Winslow on the offensive end.

Duke returns to action Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Miami. With the loss, the earliest opportunity for Krzyzewski to record his 1,000th career game is now a home game Jan. 19 against Pittsburgh.