Riding a wave of seven consecutive wins, No. 11 Duke returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday afternoon for its second matchup of the year against Georgia Tech. After a rollercoaster first half, the Blue Devils and Yellow Jackets are knotted 39-39 heading into the locker room:
Bouncing back
The first meeting of the season between these two teams led to a less-than-ideal result for the visiting Blue Devils. The Yellow Jackets, who came into the opening leg of the home-and-home as severe underdogs, managed to pull out an upset victory in Atlanta. This time around, Duke came in ready to play. Despite appearing spurred on by the return of sophomore point guard Tyrese Proctor to the starting lineup, the Blue Devils shot a meager 35.5% from the field and a solid 44.4% from behind the arc through the first 20 minutes. While Georgia Tech was by no means playing bad basketball, it was clear that Duke had come out with a vengeance to open this one.
No Mitchell, no problem
With Mark Mitchell not dressed for the game due to a knee injury, head coach Jon Scheyer elected to go with an undersized lineup. He started four guards along with sophomore center Kyle Filipowski. While a small group like that might lead one to believe that the Blue Devils would rely more heavily on perimeter play, they were decidedly unafraid to attack the rim in the first period. Filipowski was the main source of production down low, but every player was willing to push through to the paint when the opportunity arose.
Proctor starts once more
In his return to the starting lineup Saturday, Proctor continued to prove his worth to the team. His value as a floor general shone through, as he orchestrated play and loomed as a perimeter threat. While his point total was a solid but unimpressive six, the Australia native’s presence and composure in a tight half once again demonstrated why he will be such an integral piece to this team heading into the meat of a tough ACC schedule.
Yellow Jackets continue to sting
It was a solid first half from a punchy Georgia Tech team. The visitors went 57.1% from behind the arc and shot 51.7% from the field overall. It was a team effort, as no single player pushed his point total into the double digits. A fluid, pass-heavy offense combined with a strong performance from deep to keep the score tight. While the margin stretched at times, the Yellow Jackets worked hard to keep it close heading into the half — they even put together a 17-4 run and took the lead — and continued to loom as a threat heading into a hotly contested second period.
Player of the half: Kyle Filipowski
No surprises here, as Filipowski put together another solid performance in the first half Saturday. He scored an impressive 14 points and grabbed eight boards. Despite being the only Duke starter listed above 6-foot-5, he was able to dominate down low. His teammates found him in the post, and Filipowski went to work. Between drawing fouls, dropping in turnaround jumpers and shooting from behind the arc the Westtown, N.Y. native was dominant in the first 20.
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.