CLEMSON, S.C. - In the end, there was no question about the winner this time around.
After a nearly 11-minute first-half stretch without a field goal, Clemson rallied in the second period in an attempt to avenge its controversial loss to Duke earlier this season.
But despite an orange blur of screaming fans holding up plastic clocks as reminders of the timing error that decided the teams' Jan. 25 matchup, the No. 18 Blue Devils (21-7, 8-6 in the ACC) held off the Tigers (19-8, 5-8) in the final minutes to defeat Clemson 71-66 Thursday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
"It's a game you lose because you've given up and the momentum is theirs," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "To seize it back on the road was very difficult.. Our kids made big plays. The last four minutes or so of the game, you don't win a game like that unless our kids step up, and we had a number of them step up."
With 1:59 to play, Clemson stole the ball off a Duke inbounds pass and Cliff Hammonds hit a three from the right side of the court to bring the Tigers within five at 62-57. On the next play, however, sophomore Josh McRoberts drove down the lane for a layup to extend the Blue Devils' lead to 64-57.
The Tigers continued to scramble in the final minute and a half by scoring and then fouling the Blue Devils to try to quickly regain possession. But solid shooting down the stretch-Duke went 7-for-9 from the charity stripe in the final 1:03-sealed the win for the Blue Devils. Freshman Jon Scheyer, who scored a team-high 18 points on the night, hit the last four of Duke's free throws.
"It was a great thing for us to hold on to it," sophomore Greg Paulus said. "Being up 20 and then having them come back, it shows signs of us being a mature basketball team, especially when they had it down to five or six points."
Duke earned its lead in the first half during the final 11 minutes of the period. Over the course of the run, the Blue Devils scored 30 points while the Tigers tallied just eight-five of which came from the free throw line. Clemson found its spark in the final seconds of the first half, however, when Hammonds sank a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock.
"I don't think that we could have played much better than we did for about 15 minutes of the first half," Krzyzewski said. "I thought that the last 15 seconds of the half were an indication that they were going to make a run at us in the second half."
Posting seven steals and four blocks in the period, the Tigers did hit their rhythm after the break. Clemson forced the Blue Devils into 11 turnovers, bringing the crowd to its feet as it chipped away at Duke's lead.
"Sometimes with a young team, you get a lead, you lose an edge," Krzyzewski said. "It just happens that way, no matter what you do. We lost an edge.. You try to motivate them and settle them down."
Krzyzewski said his team was hesitant during the first eight minutes of the second half, despite its substantial lead. The Tigers' stingy defense and full-court press caused Duke's confidence to falter and allowed Clemson to take a stab at a comeback.
While the Blue Devils struggled in driving to the basket, Clemson's shooting improved after the break, up to 60.6 percent from 27.3 percent in the first half. By the middle of the second half, however, the Blue Devils adjusted to match the Tigers' intensity and deliver the win.
Duke will play St. John's Sunday in New York City before returning to its ACC schedule next week.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.