DURHAM, N.C. — Wendell Moore emphatically ended his shooting slump for No. 21 Duke on Wednesday night.
The sophomore forward, who had missed 20 of his last 21 shots, poured in 25 points as the Blue Devils rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat Boston College 83-82 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Moore, who had scored just 19 points in Duke’s truncated season so far, hit 8-of-13 shots, including a jumper with 44 seconds with the shot clock expiring left that gave Duke an 80-77 lead.
After Jay Heath scored for Boston College with 24 seconds left, Duke senior guard Jordan Goldwire hit two free throws to restore Duke’s three-point lead. Heath’s turnover on a bad pass with 13 seconds left ruined Boston College’s last chance to tie the score.
Moore made 1-of-2 free throws with 11 seconds left, giving Duke an 83-79 lead. Felder hit a 3-pointer with 1 second left.
Playing their first game since Dec. 16, the Blue Devils (4-2, 2-0 ACC) trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half. After cutting the deficit to eight points at intermission, Duke took a 48-46 lead with 17:35 to play on a DJ Steward basket.
The game saw eight more lead changes in the half until Duke took the lead for good on Matthew Hurt’s 3-pointer with 1:30 to play.
Moore led five Duke players who scored in double figures. Hurt added 17 points, Steward 14 and Jeremy Roach and Goldwire each had 12 points.
Boston College (2-8, 0-4 ACC) was led by Felder’s 24 points.
Duke played its first game this season without Mike Krzyzewski, their Hall of Fame coach who is quarantining after being in close contact with a family member who has tested positive for COVID-19. Associate head coach Jon Scheyer was Duke’s acting head coach for the game.
The Blue Devils were also without freshman forward Jalen Johnson, the preseason all-ACC selection who has been sidelined since Dec. 15 with a foot injury. Reserve center Patrick Tape also missed the Boston College game due to a back injury.
The shorthanded Blue Devils were ragged early, falling behind as Boston College shot 69.2% in the first half and built its largest lead at 41-25 on a Mitchell basket with 2:13 left until halftime.
Steward, though, keyed a Duke comeback with hustle that led to positive contributions on both ends of the court.
The freshman guard hit a free throw and, after missing a free throw, grabbed his own rebound. He was fouled again and hit both shots.
Steward blocked Wynston Tabbs’ jumper, grabbed the rebound then picked up an assist when Moore nailed a jump shot for the Blue Devils, slicing the Eagles’ lead to 41-30.
Heath hit a layup for Boston College and Moore countered with two free throws for Duke before Steward’s 3-pointer with five seconds left in the half left the Eagles with a 43-35 halftime lead.
