Clemson knocks off No. 24 Duke 72-64
Published 7:37 pm Saturday, January 14, 2023
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — PJ Hall scored 26 points and Brevin Galloway had 17, including a 3-pointer that put Clemson ahead to stay as the Tigers continued their perfect ACC start with a 72-64 victory over No. 24 Duke on Saturday.
Clemson (15-3), picked to finish 11th in the league before the season began, is now 7-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time in team history. The Tigers beat the Blue Devils (13-5, 4-3) for just the second time in nine games.
Galloway, the Boston College transfer, was a big reason why. His 3-pointer with 6:24 left gave the Tigers a 56-54 lead and he followed that with a smooth layup.
Duke got within 58-57 on Kyle Filipowski’s foul shot with less than four minutes left. The Blue Devils managed only free throws the rest of the way.
Fans flooded the court after the final buzzer, celebrating Clemson’s unexpected success.
Filipowski, the 7-foot freshman, led Duke with 18 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute. Fellow freshman Tyrese Proctor had 17 points for the Blue Devils.
Lines were long waiting to get in for Clemson’s biggest home game in several seasons. University President Jim Barker was in the mix with fans, posing for pictures in his orange “Grit Lives Here” T-shirt that was on seats at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The biggest pregame cheer came when football coach Dabo Swinney walked in alongside Tigers new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. And Riley got another ovation in the second half when he came out on the court and was introduced to the crowd.
Hall was certainly ready for the moment, scoring 13 of his team’s first 20 points as the Tigers led 20-15.
But the Blue Devils came back with a boost from Proctor, who fueled a 15-2 run that put them ahead.
Proctor had three-point play and a 3-pointer to give Duke its first lead with less than five minutes left in the half. Proctor kept things going with a second three and a nifty pass to fellow freshman Dereck Lively II for an uncontested jam. ‘
While Hall was on target as he made seven of 12 shots the first 20 minutes, the rest of the Tigers’ roster was cold with just five field goals.
Clemson, which came in leading the ACC in 3-point shooting, hit just two of its 11 attempts from behind the arc in the opening half. The Tigers hit only one from long distance in the second half, but that was Galloway’s critical shot.
BIG PICTURE
Duke: The Blue Devils certainly have the talent with freshman like Filipowski, Proctor and Lively. There’s still plenty of time for first-year coach Jon Scheyer to round them into a formidable postseason team.
Clemson: Count on the Tigers to crack the Top 25 for the first time this season. Clemson showed having veterans can be an advantage against a team with young players like Duke not accustomed to the game-by-game rigors of the ACC.
BROWNELL MILESTONE
Clemson coach Brad Brownell won his 400th game in his career at UNC Wilmington, Wright State and the Tigers. He was already Clemson’s all-time winningest coach and sits with 233 victories in 13 seasons with the Tigers.
UP NEXT
Duke: Returns home to face No. 16 Miami on Jan. 21.
Clemson: Heads to Wake Forest on Tuesday night.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25