Duke Falls to Kentucky, 77-72

Tuesday, November 12

Atlanta, Ga.

9 p.m.

Duke University

2-1,0-0ACC

Kentucky

3-0,0-0SEC

Duke

Kentucky

Duke Falls to Kentucky, 77-72

11/12/2024 11:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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ATLANTA – A late rally by No. 19 Kentucky led the Wildcats past No. 6 Duke, 77-72, in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Freshman Cooper Flagg scored a game-high 26 points and logged a double-double, adding a game-high 12 rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils tallied the first two buckets of the game, courtesy of an alley-oop dunk by Cooper Flagg and a fast-break bucket from Tyrese Proctor. Three consecutive three-pointers by Kentucky gave the Wildcats an 18-13 lead after just over six minutes of play.
A thunderous dunk over two defenders by Sion James knotted the score at 19 with 11:52 on the clock. The Wildcats scored six of the next eight points, edging ahead by three, 24-21. Two free throws from Cooper Flagg with 8:47 on the clock gave the freshman 10 points and closed that deficit to just one, 24-23. A fast-break layup by Flagg capped off a quick seven-point burst by Duke, giving the Blue Devils a 28-24 lead, and forcing a Kentucky timeout with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Proctor's second three-pointer gave the junior 10 points and pushed Duke's lead to seven, 36-29 and led to Kentucky's second timeout in the first half. Kon Knueppel became Duke's third player in double-figures with a driving layup and Khaman Maluach added back-to-back buckets in the paint to put the Blue Devils ahead by 10, 42-32.
After taking a 46-37 lead into the halftime break, Kentucky scored the first five points of the second half to draw within four, 46-42. Duke's defense forced a shot-clock violation to move the game into the first media timeout of the second half, with the Blue Devils still ahead, 50-45.
The Blue Devils maintained a multi-possession lead as the second half continued, and sat at nine, 56-47, with 13 minutes on the clock. A three-point-play by Kentucky out of the under-12 media timeout pulled the Wildcats within three, 56-53. A floater from Mason Gillis followed by a Flagg three-pointer pushed Duke back ahead by eight halfway through the second half.
Kentucky's defense held Duke to a shooting stretch of 1-of-7 and cut into Duke's lead, 63-61, with 6:31 remaining. A rebound by Flagg gave the freshman a double-double for the second consecutive game and was immediately followed by two free throws to push Flagg over the 20-point threshold.
The Wildcats took the lead, 69-67, with a layup – giving the Wildcats the advantage for the first time since the first half. The two teams traded three-point-plays and Kentucky remained ahead by two, 72-70, as the clock ticked under two minutes to play.
A Maliq Brown block on a Kentucky three-pointer set up a Duke possession with under 30 seconds remaining and the scored knotted at 72. Kentucky's defense secured a stop on the ensuing possession and went on to finish off the eventual victory, 77-72, from the free throw line.

NOTES

Duke out-rebounded Kentucky, 45-41, and has finished with a positive margin on the glass in all three games so far this season.
The Blue Devils dished 12 assists, marking the third consecutive game that Duke has logged double-digit dimes.
After Kentucky connected on five straight three-pointers to begin the game, Duke's defense limited the Wildcats to just 2-of-11 (.154) from distance for the remainder of the opening frame.
Duke scored a season-high 46 points in the first half, spurred on by three Blue Devils reaching double-digit points in the opening 20 minutes of action.
Cooper Flagg reached double-digits in the first half, while playing only 12 of the first 20 minutes. Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel also scored at least 10 points in the opening stanza, with the junior and freshman scoring 10 and 12, respectively, in the first half.
Flagg finished the night with game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds, tallying his second consecutive double-double.
The 26 points by Flagg is tied for the fifth-most scored by a Blue Devil in the Champions Classic, matching Andrew Dawkins' 26-point effort versus Michigan State on Nov. 15, 2011.
Knueppel ended the game with 14 points and added five rebounds, the most boards in a game so far in the freshman's career.
Proctor logged 12 points and added three assists. The junior has dished three assists in back-to-back games.
Khaman Maluach rounded out Duke's double-digit scoring, adding 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. The freshman also reeled in seven rebounds and blocked two shots.
Maliq Brown brought in eight caroms, the second-most by a Blue Devil, including a team-high five offensive rebounds.
Caleb Foster led the team with four assists. The sophomore has ended each of the first three games this season with at least three assists, after doing so just seven times as a freshman.

QUOTES

"This is a big time college basketball game. Incredibly proud of our team. I thought we came out, played a great first half, really competed at a high level. Give Kentucky credit for the plays they made. I think they showed incredible maturity, and their experience came out in that second half, no question. For us it's disappointing because you're winning for 27 minutes, and our guys competed, and they played hard. This guy to my right (Cooper Flagg) at 17 years old, what he does and how he competes and how he shows up, I couldn't be more proud of him. We've got a long season to go. I feel more optimistic tonight losing than I did even before, because you find out in this game the character of your team, the heart that they have, and this team's got a lot of heart. They kept coming at us, making shots, and we had an answer. We just kept answering. Came down to one more play, and give them credit, tip your hat to them. For us, we're going to grow and learn from this. I promise you that. We've got a locker room full of guys that are disappointed, heart broken. I'm with them. And we're going to get better." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
"Coach trusted me to go and make a play... I'm glad he had that trust in me to put the ball in my hands. I'm looking for it in that moment. It didn't work out, but I'm still going to look for it no matter what." - Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg - "It was definitely a big experience (playing away from Cameron Indoor Stadium versus a big opponent). We started three freshmen. I know me, Kon, and Khaman learned a lot from tonight. Playing some big minutes. It was definitely a big learning experience for us. We came out, and we competed. A bunch of plays we can clean up on and get better at, but at the end of the day, it's just basketball."

UP NEXT

Duke returns home for a Saturday afternoon clash with Wofford on Nov. 16. Tipoff inside Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

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