In front of a crowd that included Donald Trump, Grant Hill and Danny Ferry in addition to an exceptionally animated student section, the men's basketball team followed its first home loss in 41 games by defeating its arch-rival North Carolina 70-65 (18-10, 8-8 in the ACC).
Freshman Luol Deng led the Blue Devils with 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting after making just 1-of-14 against Georgia Tech a game ago.
J.J. Redick, who is known for his sharp-shooting and sometimes criticized for his defensive play, made what Duke (27-5, 13-3 in the ACC) head coach Mike Krzyzewski called the "biggest play" of his career on the defensive end with less than 10 seconds remaining. Blue Devil junior Daniel Ewing missed a three-pointer in the final seconds, leaving North Carolina with the ball with only a 68-65 deficit. But Rashad McCants, who leads the ACC with 19.9 points per game, dribbled the ball into a double team where Redick swiped the ball lose. The Ronoake, Va., native then dove on the loose ball and called a timeout before the Tar Heels could force a jump-ball.
After play returned, the ball was inbounded to Redick, who was subsequently fouled. The nearly perfect free-throw shooter made both shots, giving him 15 points and Duke the victory.
"J.J.'s known for his shooting but the biggest play he's made here at Duke so far is the loose ball," Krzyzewski said. "To have the wherewithall to call a timeout. It's fitting that this game was won by a loose ball because that's the type of game it was. It was just so hard fought."
McCants led the Tar Heels with 20 points and Sean May pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds. The ACC's leading point producer scored 16 of his points in the first 22 minutes of the game before Duke senior guard Chris Duhon's tenacious defense slowed the 6-foot-4 guard.
"One thing about Duke is they [sic] have the intensity, they're going to keep people flying at you," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said. "If you beat one guy, they're going to have somebody else flying at you. I like their defensive intensity and their relentlessness. We had some things we could have done, but Duke did a better job down the stretch."
Blue Devil seniors Chris Duhon, Nick Horvath, Andy Means and Andy Borman were all honored before the game, the last home contest of their careers. Each player ripped off his warmup shirt to communicate with the crowd, with Duhon's reading "Our House" in reference to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"It feels great, and it's great to share it with these guys and the coaching staff," Duhon said. "This is a special group and something that I'll remember for the rest of my life."
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