Dariq Whitehead had a season-high 18 points, and fellow freshman Kyle Filipowski made the tying and go-ahead free throws with 12.4 seconds remaining in regulation, as visiting No. 16 Duke pulled out a 65-64 victory over Boston College in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Eagles’ 7-footer Quinten Post had 16 points and hit a short jumper with 27.9 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 64-63 edge. However, amid a frenzy near the basket on the other end, Filipowski (15 points, nine rebounds) was fouled. He then calmly sank both free throws for the Blue Devils (12-4, 3-2 in ACC), who went 17 of 19 from the line to help win their first league road game in three tries.
Playing without injured point guard Jeremy Roach (toe), Duke led 37-33 at halftime. Whitehead knocked down his fourth 3-pointer to open the second half, fellow freshman Mark Mitchell (14 points) followed with two free throws and a Filipowski dunk put the Blue Devils ahead 44-33. The visitors scored 15 of the first 20 points in the second half to lead 52-38 with just under 15 minutes to play in the regulation.
However, seven points from Post highlighted a 16-2 Boston College run that was capped by a layup from Jaeden Zackery (10 points) to tie the game at 54-54 with 8:50 to play. Whitehead and Ryan Young followed with four straight free throws to give Duke its cushion back.
Filipowski’s basket with 1:42 remaining ended a Duke field-goal drought of more than nine minutes for a 63-59 edge. But, Prince Aligbe got Boston College (8-8, 2-3 in ACC) within a point with his corner 3-pointer at 1:24 to go.
Boston College scored five straight points to tie the game at 21-21 with 7:59 remaining in the first half. However, Whitehead answered with five consecutive points of his own, and a traditional three-point play from Mitchell put the Blue Devils ahead 29-21.
Duke, which has won eight straight against the Eagles, maintained its lead the rest of the half, but Post’s turnaround jumper just before the buzzer left the Eagles trailing by four at the break.
–Field Level Media
