ATLANTA, Ga. - Duke failed its first road test of the season, falling, 74-63, to Georgia Tech Wednesday night at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The Blue Devils' second consecutive loss left them at 0-2 in ACC play for the first time since the 1995-96 season. It was also Duke's first loss at Georgia Tech since that same year.
The No. 11 Blue Devils (13-3, 0-2 in the ACC) struggled with many of the same aspects that haunted them in Saturday's loss to Virginia Tech. Duke failed to find any consistent rhythm in the halfcourt offense and could not take advantage of late opportunities to seize control of the game against the Yellow Jackets (12-4, 1-2).
"Our team has struggled all year to score," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And we're still struggling to score. We have to get better finishes."
Duke committed 17 turnovers while shooting 43 percent for the game, including a 4-for-20 effort from three-point range. Jon Scheyer led the Blue Devils with 16 points, but the freshman shot just 6-for-16 from the field and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Despite their offensive woes, the Blue Devils had pulled within a basket at 55-53 with just under four minutes to play. After a defensive stand culminated in a Josh McRoberts block, Georgia Tech freshman Javaris Crittenton stole the ball from McRoberts and slammed it home for a four-point lead and a huge swing in momentum. The Yellow Jackets scored five points on their next two possessions to push the lead to nine and the game out of reach.
"Crittenton made the play of the game when he stole the ball from us after we played good defense," Krzyzewski said. "We were playing very well during that time, and the kid made a big play. We have a chance to tie the game or go ahead, and instead, they got a quick bucket. We didn't score and they scored again, and the game gets away from you."
Crittenton's dunk broke a six-minute stretch in which Georgia Tech did not make a field goal. It was emblematic, however, of the Yellow Jackets' resiliency, as they overcame 28 turnovers and countered every Duke run throughout the night.
"After they made their run, I knew that we had to make one of our own, and we did," Georgia Tech junior Anthony Morrow said. "Javaris made a big play when my three-pointer was tipped, and he grabbed it and had that dunk. I told him that's the biggest play I've ever seen him make."
Earlier in the half, it was Morrow who extinguished a Blue Devil rally. After Duke had cut the lead to three, Morrow scored 10 straight points for the Yellow Jackets in a span of three minutes. The guard's hot streak included two three-pointers and pushed the Georgia Tech advantage back to 11. The junior scored 16 of his 19 points after the intermission.
The Yellow Jackets' other junior starter-center Ra'Sean Dickey-dominated the first half, when he scored 14 of his game-high 21 points, including Georgia Tech's first 10 points of the game.
"We wanted to try to go inside," Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt said. "Ra'Sean's been playing better and better.. I thought our guys made a real strong effort to get him the basketball tonight."
Dickey's presence on the block early in the game helped negate a fast start by the Blue Devils. Duke jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game behind two threes from Scheyer. The early hot shooting alleviated any worries of nerves from Duke's freshmen-three of whom were in the starting lineup-in their first true road game of the season. The Blue Devils, however, were unable to maintain that touch from the perimeter.
NOTES:
Greg Paulus was not in the starting lineup after struggling mightily in the conference opener against Virginia Tech. Paulus came off the bench to play 29 minutes, scoring six points.... DeMarcus Nelson led Duke with four assists and four steals.... Last season, the Blue Devils defeated Georgia Tech, 73-66, on the road in the two teams' only matchup Feb. 22.... In the overall series, Duke is now 52-21 against the Yellow Jackets.... The Blue Devils next play at Miami Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
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