The stage was set for a Blue Devil victory.
Just over five years ago, an unqualified duke shocked Virginia’s No. 7 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with Grayson Allen hitting an acrobatic stroke with one hand to beat her at the doorbell.
And on Saturday night, in the same house, Blue Devils did it again, taking down the seventh Cavaliers 66-65.
With Duke holding on to a point advantage and less than a minute remaining in the contest, the Cavaliers went up the track and looked for Sam Hauser to try to give them the lead. The striker missed the third catch attack with 37 seconds left, but veteran Jay Huff had the offensive rebound to give Virginia a second chance. Huff passed out to Kihei Clark, but the junior guard missed a float with 14 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers had another chance when Duke’s guard, DJ Steward, missed his first free throw in a one-and-one. But the Blue Devils defended Clark perfectly once again, forcing him into an unbalanced three on the buzzer that fell far short of the basket.
“It is sad that the fans were not in this game. It was an epic game,” said coach Mike Krzyzewski. “It is [was] a great game of basketball tonight. Every possession was fought – it felt like every dribble at times. [Virginia is] an exceptional team and program. They are veterans and played like that. They are so balanced and make a great defense. And our kids also made a great save tonight, and came up with some really important moves. “
Virginia seemed to be taking control with eight minutes to go, with Hauser coming out of a screen and draining a deep two to break the tie 51-51. A little over a minute later, Clark drove down the track and hit a lay-in while absorbing the foul, hitting the free throw to put the Cavaliers ahead 56-51.
But the Blue Devils did not let Virginia escape, with a jumper Wendell Moore Jr. and Steward three leveling the game once again.
From there, the score went back and forth, with both teams continuing to exchange buckets in a classic Duke-Virginia showdown. Two free throws by Huff put the Cavaliers ahead 65-62 with three minutes left, but Steward jumped back to pull Duke into one.
Then, when Clark received the entry pass that followed, the Blue Devils hit the ground in unison, a trademark of the program. Virginia would not mark the rest of the game.
In that possession, Jaemyn Brakefield dismissed Clark’s attempt at a layup and, on the other hand, hit a reverse layup to give Blue Devils a 66-65 lead in what turned out to be the final score.
“We knew that when they went up, we had to stay calm and stay in the game,” said Brakefield. “We knew we were always in the game. Just making those moves, that’s why you come to Duke, man – just to make moves like that. And that’s Duke’s basketball.”
Do overtime, all Duke athletics
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Duke (10-8, 8-6 at ACC) led 39-36 at the break, but Virginia (15-5, 11-3) opened the second half at full strength. Well, more specifically, Huff opened the second half at full strength. The 2.10m striker hit three consecutive dunks to open the period, quickly recovering the lead for the Cavaliers.
But Hurt continued to show his “Larry Bird-esque” shot as ESPN’s Jay Bilas so eloquently put it, draining a quick jump and three to keep him close.
The Minnesota native entered the flaming competition, hitting 18 out of 21 on the field and 9 out of 11 on the last two games, both winning the Blue Devil. And the sophomore continued that wave of success in the first half of Saturday, draining his first three shots, all of them from outside the arc.
Hurt ended up finishing with 22 points, the best of the game, in 8 of 13 pitches from the ground, including 5 of 8 from a distance.
“I think my teammates and coaching staff did a great job of giving me confidence,” said Hurt of his recent streak. “In some games I was not playing well, but my coaching staff and my teammates – they believe me … I just try to be aggressive and try to win, especially. We managed to win, and that’s all that matters to me. “
Still, Virginia kept a narrow edge for most of the opening half thanks to a few quick moves from Huff, Clark’s cunning and Hauser’s accurate shot. The trio combined 54 of the Cavaliers’ 65 points for the night.
But then, Brakefield decided it was enough.
The rookie native striker scored seven consecutive points himself through a tray, a breakaway slam and a three, turning a 25-22 handicap in Duke to a 29-25 lead with five minutes left.
Brakefield finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks in a 29-minute career record.
“The experience of playing at the university level, at this level with physicality, is a learned experience,” said Krzyzewski. “You can only learn by playing in those games. And now that we’ve played several of them, we learn by losing and losing difficult games. But at least we learn from it – not just losing, but why and what we needed to improve. These kids did what we asked them to do. did. And Jaemyn is an excellent example. “
The Blue Devils promptly took 20th place after Allen’s buzzer-beater to beat Virginia in 2016, remaining in the top 25 every week for nearly five years until last January. It remains to be seen when Duke can return to the top 25 sometime this season. But after three consecutive ACC wins, one thing is certain – the chances of the Blue Devils NCAA tournament are still alive.
Duke had a quick turnaround after the big win, facing Syracuse on Monday at 7pm.