No. 1 Duke holds off furious North Carolina rally to win 74-71, reach ACC title game without Flagg
AP
Mar 15, 2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and No. 1 Duke Blue Devils held off a furious second half rally by North Carolina Tar Heels to beat its rival for the third time this season, 74-71 on Friday night to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
Khaman Maluach added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Sion James had 12 points for the Blue Devils, who played without star Cooper Flagg.
Duke (30-3) will play the winner of the second semifinal between No. 10 Clemson and No. 13 Louisville in the title game.
After North Carolina cut a 24-point, second-half deficit to one, Ven-Allen Lubin had two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to potentially give the Tar Heels (22-13) the lead. But he missed the first and had the second made free throw waved off after teammate Jae'Lyn Withers stepped in the lane too early.
Knueppel made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left and Lubin missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
It's the first time since 2001-02 that Duke has beaten North Carolina three times in a season. The Blue Devils swept the Tar Heels in the regular season that year and then beat them in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals en route to winning the national championship.
Lubin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels simply don't have the size to match up with the Blue Devils, but showed plenty of heart with the comeback
Duke: The Blue Devils showed they have plenty of punch and more than enough defense despite being without Flagg and top reserve Maliq Brown.
Withers stepping the lane too early was a monumental mistake.
UNC started the second half 15 of 24 from the field.
Duke will play the winner of No. 10 Clemson-No. 13 Louisville winner in the championship. UNC hopes it has done enough to get an NCAA Tournament berth.
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1st Half
UNC
Tar Heels
24
DUKE
Blue Devils
45
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Ven-Allen Lubin vs. Khaman Maluach (Jae'Lyn Withers gains possession)
19:45
RJ Davis misses three point jump shot
19:43
Tar Heels offensive rebound
19:23
Elliot Cadeau misses two point jump shot
19:21
Khaman Maluach defensive rebound
19:21
Ven-Allen Lubin personal foul
19:01
Khaman Maluach misses three point jump shot
18:55
Drake Powell defensive rebound
18:38
+2
Ven-Allen Lubin makes two point dunk (Elliot Cadeau assists)
2-0
18:14
+2
Tyrese Proctor makes two point jump shot
2-2
17:45
Jae'Lyn Withers misses three point jump shot
17:38
Drake Powell offensive rebound
17:38
RJ Davis misses three point jump shot
17:33
Blue Devils defensive rebound
17:24
Tyrese Proctor misses two point jump shot
17:20
Jae'Lyn Withers defensive rebound
17:16
Jae'Lyn Withers turnover (Kon Knueppel steals)
16:52
Elliot Cadeau shooting foul (Isaiah Evans draws the foul)
16:52
+1
Isaiah Evans makes regular free throw 1 of 3
2-3
16:52
Isaiah Evans misses regular free throw 2 of 3
16:52
+1
Isaiah Evans makes regular free throw 3 of 3
2-4
16:37
+2
Ven-Allen Lubin makes two point dunk (Elliot Cadeau assists)
4-4
16:18
Tyrese Proctor misses three point jump shot
16:14
Drake Powell defensive rebound
16:04
Sion James shooting foul (Elliot Cadeau draws the foul)
16:04
Elliot Cadeau misses regular free throw 1 of 2
16:04
+1
Elliot Cadeau makes regular free throw 2 of 2
5-4
15:55
Elliot Cadeau shooting foul (Sion James draws the foul)
15:55
TV timeout
15:55
+1
Sion James makes regular free throw 1 of 2
5-5
15:55
+1
Sion James makes regular free throw 2 of 2
5-6
15:29
Seth Trimble misses three point jump shot
15:23
Sion James defensive rebound
15:13
Sion James misses three point jump shot
15:11
Sion James offensive rebound
15:04
Kon Knueppel misses two point layup
15:02
RJ Davis defensive rebound
14:53
+2
RJ Davis makes two point layup
7-6
14:26
+2
Tyrese Proctor makes two point layup (Patrick Ngongba II assists)
7-8
14:10
+2
Jalen Washington makes two point dunk (Seth Trimble assists)
9-8
13:43
Kon Knueppel turnover (Jae'Lyn Withers steals)
13:38
RJ Davis misses two point jump shot
13:34
Isaiah Evans defensive rebound
13:14
+2
Sion James makes two point layup
9-10
13:01
Patrick Ngongba II personal foul (Jalen Washington draws the foul)
13:01
Jalen Washington technical foul
13:01
Jalen Washington turnover (offensive foul)
13:01
+1
Tyrese Proctor makes regular free throw 1 of 2
9-11
13:01
+1
Tyrese Proctor makes regular free throw 2 of 2
9-12
12:44
Kon Knueppel turnover (RJ Davis steals)
12:37
Ian Jackson misses three point jump shot
12:31
Tyrese Proctor defensive rebound
12:15
+2
Patrick Ngongba II makes two point layup (Kon Knueppel assists)
9-14
12:15
TV timeout
11:59
Kon Knueppel personal foul
11:59
Tar Heels 30 second timeout
11:47
Ian Jackson misses three point jump shot
11:45
Patrick Ngongba II defensive rebound
11:31
Tyrese Proctor misses three point jump shot
11:29
Seth Trimble defensive rebound
11:16
Ian Jackson misses two point layup
11:14
Caleb Foster defensive rebound
11:02
Ven-Allen Lubin blocks Mason Gillis's two point layup
10:57
Drake Powell defensive rebound
10:55
+2
Drake Powell makes two point layup
11-14
10:37
Seth Trimble personal foul
10:23
Caleb Foster misses two point layup
10:20
Caleb Foster offensive rebound
10:20
Caleb Foster turnover (out of bounds)
10:05
+2
Drake Powell makes two point dunk (Ven-Allen Lubin assists)
13-14
9:48
+3
Kon Knueppel makes three point jump shot (Mason Gillis assists)
13-17
9:34
Ian Jackson turnover (Caleb Foster steals)
9:30
+2
Caleb Foster makes two point layup
13-19
9:11
+2
Seth Trimble makes two point layup
15-19
9:11
Khaman Maluach shooting foul (Seth Trimble draws the foul)
9:11
Seth Trimble misses regular free throw 1 of 1
9:11
Sion James defensive rebound
8:41
+3
Sion James makes three point jump shot
15-22
8:24
Seth Trimble turnover (Caleb Foster steals)
8:17
Mason Gillis misses three point jump shot
8:15
Khaman Maluach offensive rebound
8:11
+2
Khaman Maluach makes two point layup
15-24
7:54
RJ Davis misses three point jump shot
7:49
Ven-Allen Lubin offensive rebound
7:48
+2
Ven-Allen Lubin makes two point layup
17-24
7:30
+3
Kon Knueppel makes three point jump shot (Caleb Foster assists)
17-27
7:13
Elliot Cadeau misses two point layup
7:10
Ven-Allen Lubin offensive rebound
7:10
Mason Gillis shooting foul (Ven-Allen Lubin draws the foul)
7:10
TV timeout
7:10
+1
Ven-Allen Lubin makes regular free throw 1 of 2
18-27
7:10
+1
Ven-Allen Lubin makes regular free throw 2 of 2
19-27
6:53
+3
Kon Knueppel makes three point jump shot (Patrick Ngongba II assists)
19-30
6:42
Patrick Ngongba II blocks Jae'Lyn Withers's two point jump shot
6:40
Patrick Ngongba II defensive rebound
6:40
Patrick Ngongba II turnover (traveling)
6:32
Elliot Cadeau turnover (Isaiah Evans steals)
6:21
Sion James offensive foul
6:21
Sion James turnover (offensive foul)
5:57
+2
RJ Davis makes two point jump shot
21-30
5:37
Isaiah Evans misses three point jump shot
5:33
Patrick Ngongba II offensive rebound
5:31
Sion James misses three point jump shot
5:27
Jae'Lyn Withers defensive rebound
5:05
+3
Elliot Cadeau makes three point jump shot (RJ Davis assists)
24-30
4:44
+2
Patrick Ngongba II makes two point layup
24-32
4:20
Ven-Allen Lubin misses three point jump shot
4:19
Blue Devils defensive rebound
4:04
Caleb Foster misses three point jump shot
4:02
Caleb Foster offensive rebound
3:56
Elliot Cadeau shooting foul (Caleb Foster draws the foul)
3:56
TV timeout
3:56
+1
Caleb Foster makes regular free throw 1 of 2
24-33
3:56
+1
Caleb Foster makes regular free throw 2 of 2
24-34
3:30
Seth Trimble misses two point jump shot
3:28
Khaman Maluach defensive rebound
3:28
Jae'Lyn Withers personal foul (Mason Gillis draws the foul)
3:28
+1
Mason Gillis makes regular free throw 1 of 2
24-35
3:28
Mason Gillis misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:28
Jae'Lyn Withers defensive rebound
3:09
Drake Powell misses three point jump shot
3:07
Tyrese Proctor defensive rebound
3:00
Mason Gillis misses three point jump shot
2:58
Khaman Maluach offensive rebound
2:42
+2
Khaman Maluach makes two point layup (Mason Gillis assists)
24-37
2:42
Jae'Lyn Withers shooting foul (Khaman Maluach draws the foul)
2:42
Khaman Maluach misses regular free throw 1 of 1
2:42
Ian Jackson defensive rebound
2:21
Isaiah Evans personal foul (RJ Davis draws the foul)
2:21
RJ Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 1
2:21
Khaman Maluach defensive rebound
2:04
Tyrese Proctor misses three point jump shot
2:02
Khaman Maluach offensive rebound
2:00
+2
Khaman Maluach makes two point jump shot
24-39
1:42
Drake Powell misses two point jump shot
1:40
Kon Knueppel defensive rebound
1:25
+2
Kon Knueppel makes two point jump shot
24-41
1:25
Ian Jackson shooting foul (Kon Knueppel draws the foul)
1:25
+1
Kon Knueppel makes regular free throw 1 of 1
24-42
1:12
Khaman Maluach blocks RJ Davis's two point layup
1:10
Tyrese Proctor defensive rebound
1:07
Drake Powell personal foul (Tyrese Proctor draws the foul)
1:07
Tyrese Proctor misses regular free throw 1 of 2
1:07
+1
Tyrese Proctor makes regular free throw 2 of 2
24-43
0:48
RJ Davis turnover (lost ball)
0:41
+2
Caleb Foster makes two point layup
24-45
0:24
Ian Jackson turnover (Isaiah Evans steals)
0:24
Kon Knueppel turnover (Drake Powell steals)
0:14
Ian Jackson misses two point jump shot
0:12
Kon Knueppel defensive rebound
0:03
Tyrese Proctor misses three point jump shot
0:01
Seth Trimble defensive rebound
0:00
End of period
2nd Half
UNC
Tar Heels
47
DUKE
Blue Devils
29
Time
Team
Play
Score
19:38
Tyrese Proctor misses two point jump shot
19:36
RJ Davis defensive rebound
19:16
Jae'Lyn Withers misses three point jump shot
19:14
Ven-Allen Lubin offensive rebound
19:10
Khaman Maluach blocks Ven-Allen Lubin's two point layup
19:08
Elliot Cadeau offensive rebound
18:59
Jae'Lyn Withers misses three point jump shot
18:57
Elliot Cadeau offensive rebound
18:52
+2
Ven-Allen Lubin makes two point alley-oop dunk (Elliot Cadeau assists)
26-45
18:31
+2
Kon Knueppel makes two point layup
26-47
18:21
+2
Drake Powell makes two point layup (Elliot Cadeau assists)
