No. 2 Duke Defeated, 77-71, at Clemson

Saturday, February 8

Clemson, S.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

20-3,12-1ACC

Clemson

19-5,11-2ACC

Duke

Clemson

No. 2 Duke Defeated, 77-71, at Clemson

2/8/2025 9:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)Photo Gallery

CLEMSON, S.C. – Duke men's basketball fell, 77-71, at Clemson on Saturday evening. Tyrese Proctor scored a season-high 23 points in the effort and Cooper Flagg put the Blue Devils ahead late, but Duke (20-3, 12-1 ACC) saw its winning streak snapped at 16 games.

Flagg and Khaman Maluach paced the team on the glass, with five caroms each, while Sion James dished a team-high five assists.

Proctor's 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a 4-of-8 showing from beyond the arc, are one off his career high. Kon Knueppel also connected on four makes from deep, finishing with 14 total points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

A quick start for Duke, spurred by back-to-back steals on the defensive end, put the Blue Devils ahead, 6-0, less than a minute into the contest following a three-pointer from Tyrese Proctor and a three-point-play by Sion James. Two straight three-pointers, courtesy of Kon Knueppel, extended the lead to six, 12-6, with 17:12 on the clock.
A quick six-point burst by Duke pushed Duke in front by eight, 20-12, as the game approached the under-12 media break. Clemson continued its hot-shooting first half, responding with a six-point run of its own, pulling within one possession, 23-20. Proctor connected on his second three-pointer of the opening stanza, giving the junior 11 points and expanding the Blue Devils' margin to nine, 29-20, with just under eight minutes before halftime.
The game of runs continued, as the Tigers responded with the game's next six points, triggering a Duke timeout with 5:47 on the clock. Knueppel drilled his third triple of his night out of the huddle, pushing the freshman into double-figures. Proctor joined his teammate with three three-pointers, scoring his 16th point of the opening half from beyond the arc and pushing Duke to a 39-32 advantage.
Cooper Flagg slammed home a fast-break dunk in the waning seconds of the first half, sending Duke into the locker room with a 41-35 lead. Clemson emerged from the break with five of the first seven points to bring the hosts within three, 43-40. A one-handed dunk by Proctor, on Duke's next possession, gave him 20 points for the game.
A Clemson three-pointer, with the shot clock expiring, knotted the score at 49 with 13 minutes remaining. The Tigers took their first lead on the next trip down the floor, scoring seven straight points to inch ahead, 51-49.
The scoring run reached as large as 12 points, planting Clemson in front by 56-49, before Isaiah Evans stopped the run with a contested three-pointer. Two free throws by Khaman Maluach narrowed the deficit to just one possession, 57-54, with 6:39 on the clock. Flagg knocked down two of his own from the charity stripe and then swished home a three-pointer to tie the score at 59.
A fadeaway, contested, three-pointer at the end of the shot clock by Proctor pushed Duke back in front, 62-61, and gave the guard 23 points, a new season high. Following two Clemson free throws to go up by three, the two teams traded three-pointers before a Flagg free throw brought the Blue Devils within two, 70-68, with 1:15 remaining. Flagg put Duke back in the lead with a three-pointer, 71-70, but Clemson scored the game's final seven points to close out the 77-71 final score.

NOTES

Duke had its winning streak end at 16. The Blue Devils are the first Duke team to win at least 16 games in a row since the Blue Devils won 17 consecutive games to begin the 2005-06 season.
The Blue Devils lost their first road game of the season, after winning their first seven to start the campaign.
Duke is now 12-1 in ACC play. The Blue Devils won their first 12 ACC games for the first time since the 2005-06 team started the ACC schedule with 14 wins in a row.
The second-ranked Blue Devils are now 309-93 (.769) in ACC regular-season games when ranked as a top-five team in the country.
Clemson shot 15-of-22 (.682) in the first half, the highest opponent shooting percentage in a half this season, but Duke's defense forced 10 first-half turnovers, leading to 18 points to remain in the lead at halftime.
The Tigers finished the game having shot 30-of-51 (.588) from the field, becoming the first Duke opponent this season to shoot better than 50-percent from the field in a game.
The Blue Devils finished the game with 12 total takeaways, their fifth consecutive game with double-digit opponent turnovers. Clemson entered Saturday night averaging 10.4 turnovers per game, tied for 41st nationally.
Duke made 12-of-24 shots from behind the arc, the fourth game this season the Blue Devils connected on 50% or better from three-point range.
The setback is Duke's first since falling to Kansas, 75-72, on Nov. 26, 2024.
Tyrese Proctor scored 16 first-half points en route to 23 total points, a new season high. The junior shot 9-of-15 (.600) from the field, including 4-of-8 (.500) from beyond the arc.
When Proctor makes at least three from beyond the arc, Duke is now 8-2 this season and 21-3 in Proctor's career.
Cooper Flagg scored 14 of Duke's final 17 points, finishing with 18 total points, to go with team highs in rebounds (5) and steals (3), along with one block and one assist.
Flagg connected on three three-pointers late in the game, including one with less than a minute on the clock to put Duke in the lead, 71-70.
Kon Knueppel rounded out Duke's double-digit scoring, with 14 total points. The freshman shot 5-of-9 (.555) from the field, fueled by a 4-of-6 (.667) performance from deep.
Khaman Maluach matched Flagg for a team-high five rebounds, while Sion James led the team with five assists.
James now has 23 assists to just three turnovers in Duke's last six games, a 7.7 assist-turnover ratio.

QUOTES

"It hurts, because I think this group is on the verge of doing something special. Like I said, there wasn't one ounce of us that didn't think we were winning this game. I just told them afterwards, this game has got to mean something. Ultimately, I've had different championship-caliber teams where you have a game like this, where you're right there, and if we get one stop and win, you're not going to be able to have the same feeling that you would have if you lose. Losing sucks. I hate it. I hate it more than anything. Our team hates it. So, I know we're going to have a group that responds and can really get us to a place where we need to be because look, this is what March is. This is what ACC basketball is. Give [Clemson] all the credit in the world. They were tough and it's a play here or there. I believe in this team more than anything and I'm going to look at what I can do to do better. I'm going to ask the guys the same thing. We're going to get back safely tonight and then we're going to get back to work on Monday and keep building." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
"Our game plan, I didn't think we stuck to it quite as well we should have. Checking down rebounds, guards coming in and me, Khaman [Maluach] and Maliq [Brown] really boxing out to secure rebounds. We weren't really there tonight. We didn't do our jobs. It's hard to win the battle down low, boxing out, rebounding, giving up a ton of second-chance opportunities." - Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg
"It's obviously a bad feeling, but it's straight to the film room. We have such a good locker room and everybody is going to be looking themselves in the mirror to learn from it." - Duke junior guard Tyrese Proctor

UP NEXT

No. 2 Duke returns to Durham for the first of two consecutive games at home, taking on California on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 ACC) and Golden Bears (12-12, 5-8 ACC) will tip off at 9 p.m., on ACC Network, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.