By SAM LANCE
Duke’s standout freshman, Cooper Flagg, left the Blue Devils’ ACC tournament quarterfinal matchup against Georgia Tech late in the first half and didn’t return. His absence, however, was unable to hinder Duke’s ability to win. The Blue Devils played a dominant second half to defeat the Yellow Jackets, 78-70, securing their spot in the semifinals.
Georgia Tech controlled the game early and were up 26-17 at the time of Flagg’s injury. Duke closed the second half on a 9-5 run but still faced its largest halftime deficit of the season at five points. The Blue Devils used a 12-0 run to start the second half to take a 38-31 lead, and from there, Duke never trailed. In total, Duke outscored Georgia Tech 61-44 after Flagg was sidelined.
“We were really happy to win the last four minutes of the first half,” freshman guard Kon Knueppel said on ESPN postgame. “In the second half, we knew we’d have to step up with guys going down. So I’m proud of our guys for jumping on them right away.”
Without Flagg, it was the other standout freshman who stole the show. Knueppel became the centerpiece of the offense and finished with a career-high 28 points, eight assists and five rebounds. He was joined in double-figure scoring by freshman guard Isaiah Evans (14 points) and freshman center Khaman Maluach (14 points, nine rebounds).
Duke dominated the paint, out-rebounding Georgia Tech 38-31 and outscoring the Yellow Jackets 40-26 inside. The Blue Devils turned it over just eight times and had 22 fast break points.
“I thought we got stops which helped,” Knueppel said of Duke’s run. “We got on a run and then [Evans] came in and hit some big time threes.”
Duke will play the winner of North Carolina and Wake Forest in the ACC tournament semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils could be without Flagg and junior big man Maliq Brown, who appeared to re injure his shoulder early in the game.
Head coach Jon Scheyer gave an update on both players postgame.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer gives updates on Maliq Brown and Cooper Flagg’s injuries
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