Duke Falls to Kentucky, 77-72

On By Littum

ATLANTA – A late rally by no. 19 Kentucky led the Wildcats past no. 6 Duke, 77-72, in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Freshman Cooper Flag scored a game-high 26 points and logged a double-double, added a game-high 12 rebounds.

HOW IT SEEN

  • The Blue Devils tallied the first two buckets of the game, courtesy of an alley-oop dunk Cooper Flag and a fast-break bucket from Tyrese Proctor. Three consecutive three-pointers by Kentucky gave the Wildcats an 18-13 lead with just over six minutes to play.

  • A thunderous dunk over two defenders past Sion James knotted the score at 19 with 11:52 on the clock. The Wildcats scored six of the next eight points to lead by three, 24-21. Two free throws from Cooper Flag with 8:47 on the clock, the freshman scored 10 points and closed that deficit to just one, 24-23. A fast break layup by Flagg capped a quick seven-point burst by Duke, giving the Blue Devils a 28-24 lead and forcing a Kentucky timeout with just over seven minutes left in the first half.

  • Proctor’s second three-pointer gave the junior 10 points and pushed Duke’s lead to seven, 36-29, and led to Kentucky’s second timeout of the first half. Mrs. Knueppel became Duke’s third player in double figures with a driving layup and Khaman Maluach added back-to-back buckets in the paint to put the Blue Devils ahead by 10, 42-32.

  • After taking a 46-37 lead into halftime, Kentucky scored the first five points of the second half to tie within four, 46-42. Duke’s defense forced a shot-clock violation to move the game into the first media timeout of the second half, with the Blue Devils still ahead, 50-45.

  • The Blue Devils maintained a multi-possession lead as the second half wore on, sitting at nine, 56-47, with 13 minutes on the clock. A three-point play by Kentucky out of the under-12 media timeout pulled the Wildcats within three, 56-53. One floats from Mason Gillis followed by a Flagg three-pointer that pushed Duke back up by eight midway through the second half.

  • Kentucky’s defense held Duke to a 1-of-7 shooting stretch and cut into Duke’s lead, 63-61, with 6:31 left. A rebound from Flagg gave the freshman a double-double for the second straight game and was immediately followed by two free throws to push Flagg over the 20-point threshold.

  • The Wildcats took the lead, 69-67, with a layup – giving the Wildcats the advantage for the first time since the first half. The two teams traded three-point plays and Kentucky remained ahead by two, 72-70, as the clock ticked down with under two minutes to play.

  • ONE Maliq Brown block on a Kentucky three-pointer set off a Duke possession with under 30 seconds left, knotting the score at 72. Kentucky’s defense secured a stop on the ensuing possession and went on to close out the eventual victory, 77-72, from the free throw line.

NOTES

  • Duke outrebounded Kentucky, 45-41, and has finished with a positive margin on the glass in all three games so far this season.

  • The Blue Devils dished out 12 assists, marking the third straight game in which Duke has logged double-digit dimes.

  • After Kentucky connected on five straight three-pointers to begin the game, Duke’s defense limited the Wildcats to just 2-of-11 (.154) from distance for the remainder of the opening frame.

  • Duke scored a season-high 46 points in the first half, spurred by three Blue Devils reaching double figures in the first 20 minutes of action.

  • Cooper Flag reached double figures in the first half while playing only 12 of the first 20 minutes. Tyrese Proctor and Mrs. Knueppel also scored at least 10 points in the opening stanza, with the junior and freshman scoring 10 and 12, respectively, in the first half.

  • Flagg finished the night with game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double.

  • Flagg’s 26 points are tied for the fifth most by a Blue Devil in the Champions Classic, matching Andrew Dawkins‘ 26-point effort against Michigan State on November 15, 2011.

  • Knueppel finished the game with 14 points and added five rebounds, the most boards in a game so far in the freshman’s career.

  • Proctor logged 12 points and added three assists. The junior has dished out three assists in back-to-back games.

  • Khaman Maluach rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring, adding 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. The freshman also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots.

  • Maliq Brown hauled in eight caroms, the second most by a Blue Devil, including a team-high five offensive rebounds.

  • Caleb Foster led the team with four assists. The sophomore has finished each of the first three games this season with at least three assists after doing so just seven times as a freshman.

QUOTES

  • “This is a big college basketball game. Unbelievably proud of our team. I thought we came out, played a great first half, really competed at a high level. Give Kentucky credit for the plays they made. I think they showed incredible maturity , and their experience came through in the second half, no doubt for us it’s disappointing because you win for 27 minutes and our guys competed and they played hard this guy to my right.Cooper Flag) at 17, what he does and how he competes and how he shows up, I couldn’t be more proud of him. We have a long season left. I feel more optimistic tonight about losing than I did even before because in this game you find out the character of your team, the heart they have, and this team has a lot of heart. They kept coming after us and making shots and we had an answer. We just kept answering. Come down for another game and give them credit, hats off to them. For us, we will grow and learn from this. I promise you that. We have a dressing room full of guys who are disappointed, heartbroken. I’m with them. And we’re going to get better.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer

  • “Coach trusted me to make a play… I’m glad he had that trust in me to put the ball in my hands. I’m looking for it in that moment. It didn’t work out, but I I will still look for it no matter what.” – Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flag – “It was definitely a great experience (playing away from Cameron Indoor Stadium versus a great opponent). We started three freshmen. I know me, Kon and Khaman learned a lot tonight. Playing some big minutes. It was definitely a big learning experience for us. we came out and we contested a lot of plays we can clean up and get better at but at the end of the day it’s just basketball.

UP NEXT

  • Duke returns home for a Saturday afternoon clash with Wofford on Nov. 16. Tipoff inside Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 12, and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “DukeMBB”.



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