CLEMSON, S.C. — The surprise team at the top of the ACC standings shows no intention of relinquishing its spot.
Clemson rallied from eight points down in the second half to beat No. 24 Duke, 72-64, in ACC basketball Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.
P.J. Hall scored 26 points for Clemson (15-3, 7-0 ACC), which is poised to enter The AP Top 25 rankings for the first time this season. Brevin Galloway scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to fuel Clemson’s surge.
Duke (13-5, 4-3), which shot 38.1% from the field, made just one of its last 11 shots and didn’t score a field goal over the final five minutes, eight seconds of the game.
The Blue Devils shot 30.3% in the second half, missing all 11 3-pointers they attempted after halftime. They finished 3 of 19 on 3-pointers (15.8%).
Kyle Filipowski led Duke with 18 points on 8-of-22 shooting. He also grabbed 14 rebounds. Tyrese Proctor, with 17 points, was Duke’s only other double-figure scorer.
Duke led 54-51 when Galloway sparked Clemson. After Hall’s basket cut Duke’s lead to a point, Galloway drilled a 3-pointer with 6:24 to play giving Clemson a 56-54 lead. The Tigers never trailed again.
With 5:44 left, Galloway drove the lane for a layup giving Clemson a 58-54 lead.
Duke drew within a point at 58-57 when Filipowski split two free throws at 3:57.
But Ian Schieffelin scored inside with 2:44 to play. After Proctor missed the front end of a 1-and-bonus with 2:25 left, Galloway drove the lane to score again and draw a foul. His free throw put Clemson ahead 63-57 with 1:57 left.
After leading 34-30 at halftime, Duke pushed its lead to eight points when Ryan Young hit two free throws with 14:47 left for a 44-36 Blue Devils lead.
Clemson responded with eight points in a row as Duke missed three shots in a row and was unable to secure any offensive rebounds.
The first two baskets of Clemson’s run came on goal-tending calls on Duke’s Dereck Lively. Ben Middlebrooks hit two free throws and Josh Beadle drove to bank in a shot high off the board at 12:25, tying the score at 44.
Clemson moved ahead 47-46 before a 6-0 Duke run put the Blue Devils back in front. Blakes hit a jumper before Filipowski and Mitchell both scored on put-backs giving Duke a 52-47 lead with 9:40 left.
Both teams started slowly on offense before the Blue Devils used a 15-2 run to take the lead and hold on for a 34-30 halftime advantage.
Clemson’s largest lead of the first half was 20-15 when Schieffelin scored inside with 6:39 left in the half. That’s when Duke finally found a groove on offense.
It started with a gritty play as Young rebounded Jacob Grandison’s missed 3-pointer to score.
Proctor took over from there. He drove the lane to score while being fouled and added a free throw. On Duke’s next trip down court he drilled an open 3-pointer from the left wing putting Duke up 23-20.
After Hall scored for Duke, Proctor answered with another 3-pointer. Two Lively dunks, one in transition on a pass from Whitehead and the other on a lob pass from Proctor, gave Duke a 30-22 lead with 2:42 left in the half.
