Mitchell Scores 23 as No. 14 Duke Defeats Notre Dame, 67-59

Saturday, January 6

South Bend, Ind.

6 p.m.

Duke University

11-3,2-1ACC

Notre Dame

6-9,1-3ACC

Duke

Notre Dame

Mitchell Scores 23 as No. 14 Duke Defeats Notre Dame, 67-59

1/6/2024 7:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Scheyer's 38 Wins in First 50 Games are Most by Duke Head Coach

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The first career double-double by Mark Mitchell, including 19 second-half points and a career-high 14 rebounds, helped No. 14 Duke secure a road conference victory on Saturday, defeating Notre Dame, 67-59. The Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1) finished with three total players in double-figures and defeated the Fighting Irish (6-9, 1-3) for the 10th time in the last 11 meetings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Jeremy Roach opened the scoring for Duke with a step-back jumper two minutes into the contest. The Fighting Irish held a slight lead, 8-4, at the first media timeout of the game and inched ahead, 13-7, after a three-pointer after just over five minutes of play.
A three-pointer by Caleb Foster at the 11:56 mark drew the Blue Devils within two, 17-15, before both teams went through a scoring drought of over two minutes. A Notre Dame bucket right before the under-eight media timeout snapped the streak and put the hosts ahead, 21-15.
Roach knocked down a three-pointer and Mark Mitchell sent home two free throws, bringing Duke within four, 24-20, with six minutes before halftime. Ryan Young laid in his first points of the night to make it seven straight points for Duke.
A layup by Roach made the senior the first player in double-figures and pulled the Blue Devils within one possession, 26-24, right before intermission. Jared McCain leveled the score with an old-fashioned three-point-play and two conversions from the stripe by Mitchell sent Duke into the locker room with its first lead of the game, 29-27.
An emphatic dunk by Mitchell while getting fouled opened the second-half scoring. A fast-break layup by Mitchell gave Duke a seven-point edge, 34-27, and forced a timeout by Notre Dame at the 17:20 mark of the second half. The sophomore continued to take charge of the second half, drilling a three-pointer, to give him 10 second-half points in less than four minutes of action.
A rebound off a missed free throw gave Mitchell his first career double-double and he promptly followed up with a dunk on Duke's next offensive possession. Three-pointers by McCain and Kyle Filipowski jumpstarted a quick 8-2 scoring burst by the Blue Devils and made it a 49-41 ballgame, in favor of Duke.
Notre Dame closed the gap to two points, 49-47, with two straight three-point possessions. The two teams exchanged scores over the next five minutes and Duke remained ahead, 57-53, at the final media timeout of the contest.
A three-point play by Filipowski, a put-back layup by Mitchell and six consecutive made free throws by Roach, helped the Blue Devils finish off the 67-59 victory.

NOTES

Jon Scheyer coached his 50th game at the helm of the program. He is now 38-12 as head coach – the most wins by a Duke head coach through their first 50 games.
Duke is now 9-1 in its last 10 matchups with the Irish and 8-2 in its last 10 games played at Purcell Pavilion.
Duke's defense held Notre Dame to 59 points, 3.8 below its season average of 62.8 points. The Blue Devils have now held each of their 14 opponents below their respective scoring average.
After committing an uncharacteristic nine turnovers in the first half, the Blue Devils settled down after the break with just two turnovers in the second stanza.
Duke has now connected on at least one three-pointer in 1,203 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally.
Mark Mitchell led all scorers with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-12 (.750) shooting, while also going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The Kansas City, Kan., native scored 19 second-half points, including Duke's first 14 points out of the break, while shooting 8-of-9 from the field after intermission.
Mitchell's 14 rebounds are a career high and the first time he has reached double-figure boards in his two seasons at Duke.
The 23-point, 14-rebound performance by Mitchell represents his first career double-double.
Jeremy Roach recorded 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 9-of-9 from the foul line – his fifth game in double-figures across the last six contests. Roach added six rebounds, a season-best four steals and a pair of assists.
Jared McCain tallied 11 total points, including two 3-pointers, and five rebounds.
Kyle Filipowski distributed a team-high four assists, marking the sixth time this season the 7-foot center has topped the Blue Devils in helpers.

QUOTES

"I thought we showed amazing toughness. The way we closed the first half, I think it was 14-3, that's huge if you can end a half that way when you don't play your best. And then the job that Mark Mitchell did – let me just tell you how proud I am of him. He's been working his butt off, consistently, he's been really decisive. Playing more confidently. I love the two three's, I love the shooting, but what I love the most is the 14 rebounds. I think that shows how much he competed, and he really came through for us tonight in a big way. Proud to get our first ACC road win and our second ACC win." - head coach Jon Scheyer
"I mean, Mark is just a guy that's going to find it. He's going to find his openings. He was getting offensive rebounds, he was hitting some three's. He is doing a little bit of everything. He's such a unique scorer, he doesn't really need any plays run for him. He's just getting his stuff through the offense." - senior guard Jeremy Roach

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