CORAL GABLES, Fla. _ After playing probably its worst 10 minutes of offensive basketball this season, No. 5 Duke engineered a 13-point come-from-behind victory to defeat No. 25 Miami at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., 83-75.
Duke led at halftime by two points, but turned the ball over multiple times. With 9:38 left in the game, Duke was down 61-50 and looked defeated. But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout, which seemed to wake Duke up.
From there Duke went on a 21-5 run to take a five point lead. The Blue Devils held onto that lead for the rest of the game. With that win Duke is now 16-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Gary Trent Jr. was easily the player of the game. He finished with a career-high 30 points. His previous career-high was 25 against Boston College. He finished 9-for-13 from the floor and 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point line.
The final dagger came with 1:16 left in the game, when Trent's 3-pointer put Duke up by six points.
Miami was poised to win this game.
Duke looked sluggish in the second half. After scoring the first basket of the second half, Duke turned the ball over four times, missed six free throws, and six consecutive shots over the next seven minutes. The Hurricanes took advantage and went on a 16-0 run to lead 56-44 with 11:45 minutes remaining.
Miami had 31 fast break points, most coming off Duke's 19 turnovers.
But Trent kicked off Duke's huge comeback and led Duke on a 9-5 run. Down by 11, Trent hit three straight 3-pointers over a two minute period. A Marvin Bagley layup and free throw, a Grayson Allen layup, a Wendell Carter layup and Trevon Duval layup gave Duke its first lead since being down early in the second half.
Over the final nine minutes and 16 seconds of the game, Duke hit 11 of its next 15 shots. Its zone defense was also stout. Freshman forward Wendell Carter Jr., who finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, came up with two key blocks down the stretch.
Duke shot 55 percent from the floor, while Miami shot 37 percent. Duke also hit 52 percent of its 3-pointers.
Duke freshman forward Marvin Bagley III had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Duke freshman guard Trevon Duval had 17 points and 8 assists. Allen had 5 points.
