A tough afternoon in more ways than one.
Let’s be clear: Duke was in position to win this game, despite everything, but didn’t deserve to. Georgia Tech thoroughly outplayed, outhustled and outsmarted the Blue Devils at every turn and deserved this win.
They earned it.
Duke fell behind 12-2 quickly after the Yellow Jackets hit four threes to open and go up 12-2.
The Blue Devils did fight back, but without Tyrese Proctor, who went out about 70 seconds into the game with an apparent ankle injury. He did not return.
It obviously didn’t help, but it might not have mattered. Georgia Tech played one or two levels above the Blue Devils.
Duke took the lead at 23-21 but Tech took it back immediately and stayed in front until Duke tied it 62-62 with 3:43 left.
And then Mark Mitchell showed his best…and his worst.
He made a dunk, got fouled and missed the free throw. But he got the rebound and then got another dunk to put Duke up 66-62.
And then he got called for a technical for taunting.
Georgia Tech’s Miles Kelly hit both free throws and then a jumper to wipe out Duke’s biggest lead of the game in 22 seconds.
Kyle Filipowski put Duke back up 68-66 but then Tech tied it back up. And then Mitchell bobbled the ball in the lane, Baye Ndongo got a dunk, and that, pretty much, was that. Miles Kelly got a pair of meaningless free throws, but the game was already decided.
There was a lot to be disappointed about here, but the biggest disappointment to us was that Filipowski led Duke in assists.
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