AJ Griffin scored the first 10 points of the second half as part of his 27-point performance as No. 9 Duke blew out host North Carolina 87-67 on Saturday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Blue Devils held a double-digit lead for most of the game and were in complete control other than in a stretch late in the first half.
Wendell Moore Jr. and Paolo Banchero scored 13 points apiece for Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC), which holds a half-game lead in the conference.
North Carolina (16-7, 8-4) was trying to grab a share of the league lead, but a horrid beginning and shoddy shooting spoiled the upset bid. The Tar Heels had a four-game winning streak snapped despite Brady Manek’s 21 points.
Armando Bacot tallied 12 points and RJ Davis posted 11 points for North Carolina.
The game marked the first clash between the rivals with Hubert Davis the head coach of the Tar Heels. He was 6-5 as a North Carolina player against the Blue Devils.
Prior to this meeting, the teams had split the last 100 matchups.
Griffin, a freshman, shot 11-for-17 from the field, making three 3-pointers. Banchero had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Duke led 11-2 barely three minutes into the game and stretched that edge to 31-8. But the Blue Devils scored only eight points in the last 9:58 before halftime as North Carolina closed to within 39-28.
Then came Griffin’s big burst as the Blue Devils scored the first 12 points of the second half. Griffin hit four straight shots, including two 3-pointers, during that spurt.
Duke shot 57.6 percent from the field compared to North Carolina’s 40.7 percent.
Manek made six 3-point shots on 10 attempts. The rest of the North Carolina team was a combined 3-for-12 from long range.
The teams will meet again March 5 at Duke for the final home game in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career.
–Field Level Media
