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Duke-UNC live updates: Tar Heels hold two-point lead late

Steve Wiseman
·4 min read

Duke and UNC play the first of two regular-season basketball games in their rivalry games Saturday at 6 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Follow along here for in-game updates and check back after the game for a full recap.

Second half update

UNC held a 10-point first half lead only to see Duke come back and lead briefly. The Tar Heels, after leading 41-39 at halftime, pushed their lead to as many as 12 points in the second half.

But the Blue Devils were able to come back again and, with 6:55 to play, UNC led the Blue Devils 72-70.

Matthew Hurt spurred Duke’s comeback. The ACC’s second-leading scorer for the season with a 18.8 average, Hurt was scoreless in the game’s first 28 minutes as UNC took a 62-50 lead.

But Hurt scored his first basket with 11:05 to play. He added a 3-pointer with 8:32 left cutting the Tar Heels lead to 69-67.

Caleb Love lead UNC with 18 points

Halftime update

UNC discovered its 3-point shooting stroke on the short drive to Durham and it’s allowed the Tar Heels to take a 41-39 halftime lead over Duke.

A 30.2% 3-point shooting team for the season, the Tar Heels hit 6 of 9 over the game’s first 20 minutes. Kerwin Walton hit all three of his, accounting for his nine points. Garrison Brooks and Caleb Love each scored 10 points for UNC, which led by as many as 10 points in the first half.

Nine turnovers slowed Duke’s offense and the Tar Heels scored 21 points off those miscues.

But after trailing 28-18 when UNC’s Walton hit a 3-pointer with 8:24 to play in the half, Duke unleashed a 14-2 run to erase the deficit and move in front.

Freshman guard Jeremy Roach led the charge, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and adding a basket to leave UNC up 28-26. After Love scored for UNC, Duke scored the game’s next six points on a Jalen Johnson basket, Henry Coleman’s basket and another Johnson score for a 32-30 Blue Devils lead.

Joey Baker’s 3-pointer with 2:54 gave Duke its largest lead of the half a 35-32 with 2:53 left until intermission.

But Duke’s sloppiness struck again as the Blue Devils turned the ball over on three of their next four possessions. After stealing the ball, Anthony Harris picked up an assist on Armando Bacot’s dunk that put the Tar Heels up 41-37 with 43 seconds left in the half.

DJ Steward’s basket with 13 seconds left in the half accounted for the halftime score.

Duke shot 46.9% (15 of 32) from the field in the first half, while hitting 5 of 12 3-pointers. Roach and Wendell Moore scored eight points each to lead the Blue Devils.

First half update

The struggles Duke showed while losing 77-75 on Monday night were not corrected as the Blue Devils prepared to face UNC. The Blue Devils hit just 8 of their first 20 shots, while committing six turnovers, as the Tar Heels grabbed a 28-21 lead with 7:48 to play until halftime.

Kerwin Walton’s three 3-pointers ignited the UNC offense as the Tar Heels hit 10 of their first 21 shots, including 5 of 8 3-pointers. Garrison Brooks, thriving in his matchup with Duke sophomore Matthew Hurt, scored 10 points to lead UNC.

Starting lineups

Duke is going with a bigger starting lineup tonight, with 7-0 freshman center Mark Williams in the starting lineup for the first time since the Jan. 9 win over Wake Forest. Williams is joined by 6-9 sophomore Matthew Hurt on the interior, with freshman guards DJ Steward and Jeremy Roach and sophomore Wendell Moore on the perimeter.

Jalen Johnson, the preseason all-ACC player, will come off the bench for Duke. Johnson has started Duke’s previous four games.

This lineup is the ninth different starting five Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has used in 14 games this season.

UNC’s starting five has Leaky Black, Caleb Love and Kerwin Walton on the perimeter with Armando Bacot and Garrison Brooks manning the post. This is the seventh consecutive game UNC coach Roy Williams has used this starting lineup.