Duke Pulls Away From Tar Heels, 82-69

Saturday, March 8

Chapel Hill

6:30 PM

North Carolina

Duke

RJ Davis

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

March 8, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Duke built a big, first-half lead, allowed North Carolina to come back, then pulled away late, beating the Tar Heels, 82-69, on Saturday night in the Smith Center. The Blue Devils shot 60.7 percent in the second half and 56.4 percent in the game.

The game was the final regular season home appearances for Tar Heel graduate students RJ Davis, Jae'Lyn Withers and Ty Claude.

Carolina fell behind by 15 points in the first half, then clawed back slowly. UNC went on a 22-6 burst late in the first half and early in the second to take the lead for the first time. The Tar Heels took their biggest lead of the night at 56-49, but Duke closed the game on a 33-13 run in the final 15:44.

Kon Knueppel led Duke with 17 points, while Sion James and Tyrese Proctor scored 16 apiece. Cooper Flagg scored 15.

Davis scored 15 first-half points, but Duke's taller defenders limited him to five points in the second half. He went scoreless in the final 17:43 and finished with 20 points. Ven-Allen Lubin was the only other Tar Heel in double figures, scoring 11 with six rebounds. UNC shot 32.4 percent after halftime.

"I think we did a good job of battling throughout the whole game, and it just wasn't enough in the second half," Davis said. "I think they got a lot of transition buckets, we left some guys open for threes, and we just couldn't convert when needed on the offensive end."

Duke won its eighth game in a row and its 24th in its last 25 games, finishing the regular season at 28-3 overall and 19-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils clinched the ACC regular season title and will be the top seed in next week's ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

Carolina finished the regular season 20-12, 13-7 and will be the fifth seed in Charlotte, opening play on Wednesday in the second round.

UNC never led in the first half, and Duke led by as many as 15 at 36-21. The Blue Devils made a blistering 12 of their first 16 shots from the floor before cooling and finishing at 51.9 percent for the half. Carolina closed the period on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to a point at 43-42 at the break.

In the second half, the Tar Heels outscored Duke, 10-4, in the first 2:26 and took a seven-point lead before the Devils put the game away with their big run. The taller Blue Devils dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Tar Heels by a 39-26 margin and piling up a 40-28 advantage in the paint.

"I'm as proud of this win as any because we knew Carolina, how they'd come out, ready to fight and compete," said Duke head coach Jon Scheyer. "I thought they played at a really high level, and to be able to withstand that and then get back to our identity of playing defense down the stretch…I think that's really the story."

Carolina's 27 second-half points were its fewest in a half since scoring 25 in the first half at Duke on February 1. The Tar Heels shot 39.1 percent from the floor, their lowest percentage since shooting 39.0 percent vs. Georgia Tech on December 7.

"You really only have control over two things: how you react and how you respond," said UNC head coach Hubert Davis. "I've been proud of how this team has reacted and responded all year, specifically over the last month, with them staying connected and staying the course. I don't think that's going to change at all. We'll regroup and be ready to go."

How It Happened
First Half
• On Senior Day, the Tar Heels started a lineup of Elliot Cadeau, Davis, Drake Powell, Claude and Withers.
• Davis played his 170th game, surpassing former teammate Armando Bacot for the all-time ACC and UNC records. Entering this season, the NCAA record was 178 by Iowa's Jordan Bohannon.
• Duke led for most of the early portions of the game, hitting 9 of 13 shots (including 4 of 5 three-pointers) by the second media timeout at the 11:02 mark.
• Flagg picked up his second foul at the 12:53 mark and went to the bench.
• Knueppel scored 10 of Duke's first 22 points.
• The Blue Devils started 12 for 16 from the field (75 percent) while Carolina started 6 for 16 (37.5 percent). Duke used a 12-2 run over 3:05 to take a 36-21 lead just over 12 minutes into the game.
• Flagg sat for over seven minutes before returning at the 5:18 mark, then picked up his third foul on a charge drawn by Withers two minutes later at the 3:18 mark. He scored five first-half points.
• The Tar Heels used a 10-0 run in just over two minutes to cut the Duke lead to 41-40 with 1:48 before the break, forcing a Duke timeout.

Second Half
• Carolina started the second half on a 10-4 run and took its first lead at 48-45 on a three-pointer by Withers.
• Between the 12-2 run to close the first half and the 10-4 spurt to start the second, the Tar Heels combined for a 22-6 burst.
• Carolina built a lead as large as seven points at 56-49, four minutes into the half. Duke responded with a 16-3 run to lead, 65-59, and force UNC to call timeout.
• Duke used a 22-5 run over 7:37 to take control and rebuild a double-digit lead at 75-64.
• Flagg scored 10 second-half points and helped control Davis with his defense down the stretch.

Up Next
Carolina will head to Charlotte for next week's ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels will open play on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against Pitt or Notre Dame on ESPN.