Duke too much for Clemson
DURHAM, N.C. -- With the game getting away from Clemson on Wednesday night, Tigers forward Bryan Narcisse soared on the baseline for what could have been a two-handed, momentum-turning dunk.
It was not to be. Duke forward Kyle Singler leaped and extended his right hand to shove the ball back away from the rim. The crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium roared its approval.
The homecourt environment was especially amped up for the senior night of Singler and Nolan Smith, and for good reason.
No. 4-ranked Duke's 70-59 win over the Tigers gave the Blue Devils back-to-back undefeated seasons in their home arena.
Smith scored 21 points and handed out seven assists as Duke finished 17-0 at Cameron this season and stretched its home winning streak to 36 games.
Singler added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Seth Curry scored 18 for the Blue Devils (27-3, 13-2 ACC), who will play their regular season finale Saturday at North Carolina with the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament on the line.
Clemson (19-10, 8-7) played with the urgency of a team that understood it desperately needed a win to enhance its NCAA tournament credentials. Even in a hostile environment, the Tigers pressured and forced Duke's guards to start the offense far from the basket in a tactic the Blue Devils often impose upon their opponents.
Guard Demontez Stitt scored 14 points, and the Tigers forced 20 turnovers, a season high for the Blue Devils.
But Duke also worked with a determination that appeared to have little to do with making senior night enjoyable for Smith and Singler. On Saturday, the Blue Devils lost 64-60 at Virginia Tech in a game that instantly boosted the Hokies' hopes for an NCAA tournament bid.
This late in the season, Duke's players didn't want to suffer their first losing streak since 2008-09. The Blue Devils defended with just as much intensity as Clemson, which lost at Cameron for the 14th straight time and has dropped 25 of the last 27 games in the series.
Clemson shot just 30.4 percent from the field and became the fifth straight opponent Duke held below 40 percent.
The Blue Devils appeared ready to blow the game open late in the first half. Smith scored four points and handed out two assists as Duke scored 11 in a row to take a 31-20 lead with 5 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the half.
But just as quickly the momentum changed. Demontez Stitt scored five points and assisted on an Andre Young 3-pointer as the Tigers struck back for 12 points in a row of their own and a 32-31 lead.
Two Mason Plumlee free throws with 1:53 remaining in the half gave Duke a 36-34 halftime lead.
In the second half, Duke broke a 38-38 tie with eight straight points on two more Plumlee free throws and consecutive 3-pointers by Seth Curry and Smith. But Clemson climbed back within 50-48 after a three-point play by Stitt and two free throws by Young.
But a dunk by Plumlee, a free throw by Smith and a nifty, step-back 18-footer on the wing by Curry gave Duke a seven-point lead and a bit of breathing room.
