Inside Cameron Indoor Stadium for the final game of their regular season, the ninth-ranked Blue Devils struggled to keep pace with the seventh-ranked Tar Heels for much of the first half before a late-period fightback closed the gap. Duke trails North Carolina 40-31 heading into the locker room:
One last goodbye
Duke honored three players in its senior night celebration: Ryan Young, Spencer Hubbard and Jeremy Roach. With former head coach Mike Krzyzewski sitting on the baseline with his wife Mickie, all three players added the program legend to their thank-you procession. The crowd roared as Roach began his walk, chanting “one more year.” Roach, a four-year starter and two-time captain, is the lone starter remaining from the Final Four run in Krzyzewski’s last season. However, Roach was held scoreless through nearly 19 minutes of play, going 0-for-7 from the floor until he found a lane with just a minute on the clock, making the layup with ease.
Backboard advantage
Entering Saturday evening’s contest, Duke hadn’t been outrebounded since — well, the first North Carolina game. But the Blue Devils had little-to-no luck on the boards early in the half. At the under-12 media timeout, the Tar Heels had a 9-3 rebound advantage, three of which came from graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers. North Carolina’s dominance on its own offensive glass yielded eight second-chance points and kept the ball in the hands of the visitors.
Down early
The Blue Devils found themselves on the wrong side of an early run, as Harrison Ingram made a short two to open the scoring. Filipowski got the home team on the board, but three Cormac Ryan treys forced Duke head coach Jon Scheyer to call a timeout less than four minutes in, already down 15-4. The Blue Devils’ shots were coming up reliably short, as the team went 2-for-6 from the field in that span. Out of the break, an uncharacteristic fumble by Roach ended the initial comeback possession. It would take Duke most of the half to begin to shrink that deficit, as it trailed by 15 with just more than eight minutes to play.
Rookies’ moment
It may have been senior night, but Duke’s freshmen would not be forgotten. Sean Stewart was the first player off the bench for Duke, and he came in with a vengeance. With a vicious block on RJ Davis, the freshman forward sparked the Crazies. McCain sank a long two in direct response to a Seth Trimble jumper. TJ Power got in on the defensive action with a block of his own on Ryan and McCain grabbed the offensive board to extend the possession and eventually get his team some much-needed points. The Sacramento, Calif., native also led his team in rebounds with six to go along with his 11 points.
Player of the half: Tyrese Proctor
Proctor’s two steals and subsequent fast-break points were lifelines for the Blue Devils. His layup with 6:39 to play cut the deficit to 10, the closest it had been since just more than three minutes in. Under the five-minute mark, Young knocked the ball away from Davis (the first non-Proctor steal for Duke). Jared McCain kicked it out to a wide-open Proctor on the corner, and the sophomore drained it, sending all 9,314 fans (minus the handful behind the Tar Heel bench) into a frenzy. The 11-point disadvantage had become eight, and suddenly the game felt within reach again.
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Rachael Kaplan is a Trinity junior and sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.