No. 6 Duke basketball holds off Georgia Tech, in an unusual way, in ACC opener

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke was in the zone Wednesday as the No. 6 Blue Devils opened ACC play against Georgia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils came away with a hard-fought 85-79 victory, but only after finally slowing the Yellow Jackets’ shooters with something unexpected — a zone with 1-2-2 and 3-2 looks.

Freshman Cameron Boozer, playing with a purpose in the second half, had 26 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (12-1), and the Blue Devils had five players finish in double figures. The Devils had 21 offensive rebounds, nine by Boozer, and had 15 second-chance points to Tech’s none.

“They were really ready to play and gave us everything we could handle,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I’m proud of our guys finding a way to win. It’s expected we’re supposed to just roll through everybody we play and that’s not the reality. I thought we did a lot of tough things to win.”

Scheyer is a man-to-man disciple, as was his coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski. But after Georgia Tech shot 68% from the field in taking a 43-39 halftime lead, Scheyer decided a different defensive look might cause more indecision from the Yellow Jackets.

“We had to do something,” Scheyer said. “I mean, they were in a rhythm for 25 minutes, scoring about 70 percent from the field and getting whatever they wanted.

“It was a move out of desperation, more than anything else. It’s a credit to their offensive readiness and I think there was definitely a lack of fight on the defensive end. I thought the zone solved some problems for a little bit.”

With Maliq Brown or Dame Sarr doing most of the work at the point of the Duke zone, the Jackets missed 10 straight shots in one stretch during the second half.

“We found a rhythm early on and we did what we wanted to do and attacked them as best we could,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said. “They took away a little bit when they went zone. They were long and had a lot of length out there. By the time we adjusted to it, it was just a little too late.”

The Blue Devils jumped into the lead, moving ahead 70-63 with 8:10 left in regulation on back-to-back 3-pointers by Cameron Boozer and then Caleb Foster. Cameron Indoor was rumbling at the point and the Yellow Jackets, a confident bunch for much of the game, suddenly seemed shaky.

Down the stretch, in the final minutes, both teams went back to their man-to-man matchups. It became something of a chess match in what was a tight finish.

Duke’s Cayden Boozer, who started for the first time this season Wednesday, knocked down a jumper with 1:28 left to play for an 80-75 lead.

Tech senior Kowacie Reeves Jr., who had 23 points, nailed a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to pull the Jackets within 81-78, but Cameron Boozer stepped to the line and knocked in two free throws with 28.8 seconds remaining.

Duke now has won 19 consecutive home ACC openers — the last loss to Virginia Tech in the 2006-07 season.

Here are some observations from Wednesday’s game.

Got to make the free throws

Free throws have become something of an issue for the Blue Devils.

Duke lost to Texas Tech before Christmas, in large part, because of some misfires at the line in an 82-81 loss. Georgia Tech also was able to stay close in the second half as the Devils had some critical misses, a few by Patrick Ngongba II.

Duke was 11 of 16 at the line in the opening half and finished 24 of 35 in the game. But Duke leading by a point late, Ngongba did step to the line and make a pair for a 78-75 lead with 3:04 left. Cameron Boozer also sank a pair with 28 seconds left.

Stoudamire was irked after the game about the free-throw disparity: the Jackets were 11 of 13 at the line. The Jackets did not shoot a free throw in the first half; then again, they either made shots or turned the ball over 11 times.

“Thirty-five to 13, that’s all I’ve got to say,” he said, then said it again. “It is what it is.”

Too many 3s early

There are times when the Blue Devils can be 3-point happy, and they were in the opening half Wednesday.

Of Duke’s first 14 shots in the game, 12 were 3-pointers. With Georgia Tech looking to double up inside on Cameron Boozer, the Blue Devils seemed content to fire away from the 3-point line. So did Georgia Tech, at least in the opening minutes. The score was tied 9-9 at the first media break, all on 3s.

By halftime, Duke was 6 for 20 on 3-pointers — Cameron Boozer making a pair — in shooting 36.7% from the field. Darren Harris was the only Duke player without a 3-point shot in the first half, and there were a few bricks in the mix.

The Blue Devils focused more on the inside in the second half, looking to free up Boozer or get to the rim off the dribble. Of Duke’s 34 second-half shots, 12 were 3-pointers.

Yellow Jackets came out hot

Duke entered the game ranked fourth nationally in field-goal defense but the rim looked pretty big to the Yellow Jackets in the first half in taking the 43-39 lead.

The Blue Devils had freshman guard Cayden Boozer in the starting lineup to better match up with the shorter Jackets, who have impressive quickness. It didn’t matter a lot in the opening half as Georgia Tech made 19 of its 28 shots from the field, hitting four of its first five 3-pointers.

Despite not getting to the line in the half, the Jackets continued to attack the rim and made shots. On one possession, Reeves had Cayden Boozer in his face and contested but made an 18-foot banker. Later, 6-3 guard Chas Kelley III took the ball at the 6-11 Ngongba along the right baseline and scored on a no-fear kind of move.