Feb. 19--DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke arms draped North Carolina shoulders. North Carolina arms draped Duke shoulders.
For almost a minute Wednesday night, respect trumped rivalry and Dean Smith made Cameron Indoor Stadium stand still as players and coaches from both teams took a knee and formed a circle at halfcourt for a moment of silence in honor of the longtime North Carolina basketball coach, who died Feb. 7. He was 83.
"It shows class that this rivalry really has," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "Some people hate, hate, hate. I want to beat their butts so bad I can taste it, but there's a great deal of respect between the two programs."
After some hugs, the gloves came off. "Let's go Duke" chants stole the quiet. Then, thanks mostly to Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook, No. 4 Duke prevailed 92-90 in overtime.
In between, Cameron was muted again when freshman center Jahlil Okafor crumpled to the floor after landing awkwardly on his left ankle with 3 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first half. He returned after a quick visit to the locker room and twice gave the Blue Devils the lead in overtime, including for good when his layup went in with 1:42 left.
"When I committed to Duke, this was definitely one of the games I marked on my calendar," Okafor said.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Okafor, who played the entire second half and overtime, had a sprain. He had 12 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 41 minutes.
"Sometimes you can play because your adrenaline is moving, especially for big guys," Krzyzewski said. "We'll see if he's going to be ready for Saturday. We can't practice (Thursday) anyway, but we'll get him some rest.
"I would think he's going to play, but we don't know that."
One thing was for sure for Duke: Jones.
The freshman point guard scored Duke's final nine points of regulation, including a layup with 27 seconds left that tied the score at 81. He also tied his season high with 22 points and added eight assists and seven rebounds while handing No. 15 North Carolina (18-8 overall, 8-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) its fourth loss in five games.
"He's the best point guard in the country. He showed it tonight," said Cook, who had 22 points and propelled the Blue Devils (23-3, 10-3) to a 12-point lead with three of his six 3-pointers in the first 8:47 of the first half.
Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson each scored 18 for North Carolina, which outdid Duke 62-40 in the paint and 32-7 in bench points.
"It means everything to me to come away with this win," Jones said.
It also meant a lot to Krzyzewski that Smith was honored before the game. He and Williams discussed possible tributes this week. Some fans wore Duke-colored shirts with the word "Dean" in place of the customary "Duke."
The teams meet again March 7 in Chapel Hill in the regular-season finale.
"He might not have liked the result," Krzyzewski said, "but I'm sure he liked the way both teams played."
