DURHAM, N.C. _ The last time No. 4 Duke played in a conference game, its young team learned the games would be tight and that nothing would come easy. Boston College took it to Duke on Dec. 9 and won in a tight game, 89-84.
Saturday's conference game against No. 24 Florida State had a similar feel. The Seminoles led Duke at halftime by four points behind senior forward Phil Cofer's near perfect shooting. Cofer, who hit 11 of his first 12 shots, set a career-high with 22 points in the first half.
But Duke _ even after finding itself down by eight points _ found a way to come back and win, 100-93.
It was Duke's first conference win of the season.
Duke (13-1, 1-1 ACC) led the game for most of the first half. The game remained close however.
But Florida State (11-2, 0-1) ended the last 1:26 of the first half on a 7-1 run to take the lead. The Seminoles extended their lead to eight during the first few minutes of the second half.
Then Duke went on a 14-0 run that included three 3-pointers, one in which Marvin Bagley III was fouled. From there, the game went back and forth as both teams traded leads.
To come back, Duke attacked the offensive glass. Duke had 28 second-chance points. Both freshman forwards Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr. had career highs in rebounds. Bagley tallied 32 points and 21 rebounds. Carter had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Senior guard Grayson Allen added 22 points and six assists for Duke, and freshman point guard Trevon Duval had 16 points.
Duke took the lead for good with two minutes and 30 seconds left in the game. Carter scored on a dunk that put the Blue Devils up 95-93. But after being hot for nearly the entire game, the Seminoles would miss their final eight shots.
Cofer finished with 28 points.
