Unfortunately, much like last season’s Louisville game – the last time the Cavaliers lost on a shot in the final seconds – when a go-ahead 3-pointer by Brogdon didn’t hold up, Duke had the answer.
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Senior Malcolm Brogdon led the ‘Hoos with 18 points, and also hit a circus-shot under the basket to give Virginia a one-point lead prior to Allen’s heroics.
Eight different scorers powered the third-ranked Duke Blue Devils offense to post a 17-6 season and home-opening win over the High Point Panthers at Koskinen Stadium on Friday.
Allen was mobbed by his teammates as officials reviewed the play and confirmed he had won the game, ending Virginia’s seven-game winning streak and likely vaulting Duke back into the national polls ahead of its meeting with hated rival North Carolina. Virginia (20-4, 9-3 ACC) is looking to not fall two losses behind UNC in the ACC standings. The Blue Devils pushed their lead to 51-44 on Jones’ 3-pointer 4 minutes later before Brogdon brought the Cavaliers back. Brandon Ingram is averaging 16.9 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils. Duke is averaging 84.3 points per game while giving up 71.3 points per game.
“When we went up one with a couple of seconds left and it came down to our defense, that’s what we pride ourselves on … it’s just tough to lose that way, but we fought hard”, UVA guard London Perrantes said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.
In their last four games, the Cavaliers had hounded opponents into 28.1-percent 3-point shooting. The Blue Devils were the better team from long range (42.9 percent) and from the foul line (75 percent), which proved to be keys late in the second half. Allen drove the left side of the lane before pulling up for a shot that kissed off the glass and went through at the buzzer. Guard Matt Jones added 14 points for Duke.
TCU (11-14, 2-10), among the most turnover-plagued teams in Division I, committed 26 more, matching its season-high. Allen, who has drained his last 19 free throws and is 15-of-23 beyond the arc over his last four contests, has tallied at least 27 points in three of his last five outings.
The Wolverines (19-7, 9-4 Big Ten) scored the game’s last 11 points. Duke defended Colson differently when he scored his final 11 points, including two 3-pointers early in the second half and a go-ahead three-point play in the final minute. Without midseason Wooden Award candidate Azurá Stevens, Duke dropped its third straight game, falling 64-58 to Wake Forest.
“They used all six of those to squeeze that one out”, Bennett said.
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Junior point guard Cat Barber, a Hampton High graduate, scored a career-high 38 points Saturday in a 99-88 victory against Wake Forest. “I do think we’ve had some adjustments with people getting injured, but I still think basketball is basketball”.
