ATLANTA – A late rally by No. 19 Kentucky led the Wildcats previous No. 6 Duke, 77-72, within the Champions Basic on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Freshman Cooper Flagg scored a game-high 26 factors and logged a double-double, including a game-high 12 rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue Devils tallied the primary two buckets of the sport, courtesy of an alley-oop dunk by Cooper Flagg and a fast-break bucket from Tyrese Proctor. Three consecutive three-pointers by Kentucky gave the Wildcats an 18-13 lead after simply over six minutes of play.
• A thunderous dunk over two defenders by Sion James knotted the rating at 19 with 11:52 on the clock. The Wildcats scored six of the subsequent eight factors, edging forward by three, 24-21. Two free throws from Cooper Flagg with 8:47 on the clock gave the freshman 10 factors and closed that deficit to only one, 24-23. A quick-break layup by Flagg capped off a fast seven-point burst by Duke, giving the Blue Devils a 28-24 lead, and forcing a Kentucky timeout with simply over seven minutes remaining within the first half.
• Proctor’s second three-pointer gave the junior 10 factors and pushed Duke’s result in seven, 36-29 and led to Kentucky’s second timeout within the first half. Kon Knueppel grew to become Duke’s third participant in double-figures with a driving layup and Khaman Maluach added back-to-back buckets within the paint to place the Blue Devils forward by 10, 42-32.
• After taking a 46-37 lead into the halftime break, Kentucky scored the primary 5 factors of the second half to attract inside 4, 46-42. Duke’s protection compelled a shot-clock violation to maneuver the sport into the primary media timeout of the second half, with the Blue Devils nonetheless forward, 50-45.
• The Blue Devils maintained a multi-possession lead because the second half continued, and sat at 9, 56-47, with 13 minutes on the clock. A 3-point-play by Kentucky out of the under-12 media timeout pulled the Wildcats inside three, 56-53. A floater from Mason Gillis adopted by a Flagg three-pointer pushed Duke again forward by eight midway via the second half.
• Kentucky’s protection held Duke to a taking pictures stretch of 1-of-7 and lower into Duke’s lead, 63-61, with 6:31 remaining. A rebound by Flagg gave the freshman a double-double for the second consecutive sport and was instantly adopted 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 benefit for the primary time for the reason that first half. The 2 groups traded three-point-plays and Kentucky remained forward by two, 72-70, because the clock ticked beneath two minutes to play.
• A Maliq Brown block on a Kentucky three-pointer arrange a Duke possession with beneath 30 seconds remaining and the scored knotted at 72. Kentucky’s protection secured a cease on the following possession and went on to complete off the eventual victory, 77-72, from the free throw line.

NOTES

• Duke out-rebounded Kentucky, 45-41, and has completed with a optimistic margin on the glass in all three video games up to now this season.
• The Blue Devils dished 12 assists, marking the third consecutive sport that Duke has logged double-digit dimes.
• After Kentucky linked on 5 straight three-pointers to start the sport, Duke’s protection restricted the Wildcats to simply 2-of-11 (.154) from distance for the rest of the opening body.
• Duke scored a season-high 46 factors within the first half, spurred on by three Blue Devils reaching double-digit factors within the opening 20 minutes of motion.
• Cooper Flagg reached double-digits within the first half, whereas enjoying solely 12 of the primary 20 minutes. Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel additionally scored at the very least 10 factors within the opening stanza, with the junior and freshman scoring 10 and 12, respectively, within the first half.
• Flagg completed the evening with game-highs of 26 factors and 12 rebounds, tallying his second consecutive double-double.
• The 26 factors by Flagg is tied for the fifth-most scored by a Blue Satan within the Champions Basic, matching Andrew Dawkins‘ 26-point effort versus Michigan State on Nov. 15, 2011.
• Knueppel ended the sport with 14 factors and added 5 rebounds, essentially the most boards in a sport up to now within the freshman’s profession.
• Proctor logged 12 factors and added three assists. The junior has dished three assists in back-to-back video games.
• Khaman Maluach rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring, including 10 factors on an ideal 5-for-5 from the sector. The freshman additionally reeled in seven rebounds and blocked two photographs.
• Maliq Brown introduced in eight caroms, the second-most by a Blue Satan, together with a team-high 5 offensive rebounds.
• Caleb Foster led the workforce with 4 assists. The sophomore has ended every of the primary three video games this season with at the very least three assists, after doing so simply seven occasions as a freshman.

QUOTES

• “It is a massive time school basketball sport. Extremely pleased with our workforce. I believed we got here out, performed an awesome first half, actually competed at a excessive stage. Give Kentucky credit score for the performs they made. I feel they confirmed unbelievable maturity, and their expertise got here out in that second half, no query. For us it is disappointing since you’re successful for 27 minutes, and our guys competed, they usually performed laborious. This man to my proper (Cooper Flagg) at 17 years outdated, what he does and the way he competes and the way he reveals up, I could not be extra pleased with him. We have got a protracted season to go. I really feel extra optimistic tonight shedding than I did even earlier than, since you discover out on this sport the character of your workforce, the guts that they’ve, and this workforce’s acquired a variety of coronary heart. They saved coming at us, making photographs, and we had a solution. We simply saved answering. Got here down to at least one extra play, and provides them credit score, tip your hat to them. For us, we’ll develop and be taught from this. I promise you that. We have got a locker room full of fellows which are disillusioned, coronary heart damaged. I am with them. And we’ll get higher.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
• “Coach trusted me to go and make a play… I am glad he had that belief in me to place the ball in my arms. I am on the lookout for it in that second. It did not work out, however I am nonetheless going to search for it it doesn’t matter what.” – Duke freshman guard/ahead Cooper Flagg – “It was undoubtedly an enormous expertise (enjoying away from Cameron Indoor Stadium versus an enormous opponent). We began three freshmen. I do know me, Kon, and Khaman discovered rather a lot from tonight. Taking part in some massive minutes. It was undoubtedly an enormous studying expertise for us. We got here out, and we competed. A bunch of performs we will clear up on and get higher at, however on the finish of the day, it is simply basketball.”
   

UP NEXT

• Duke returns house for a Saturday afternoon conflict with Wofford on Nov. 16. Tipoff inside Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m., and the sport can be broadcast on ACC Community.

To remain updated with Blue Devils males’s basketball, comply with the workforce on Twitter, Instagram and Fb by looking out “DukeMBB”.
 
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