DURHAM – For 16 minutes, No. 7 Duke’s pressure defense was as good as the Blue Devils could have hoped, forcing turnovers and leading to easy points.

But Miami’s first half had been too good, center Reggie Johnson had been too dominant and Duke missed too many free throws down the stretch, leading the Hurricanes’ 78-74 victory in overtime.

“The first 24 minutes – you can’t cheat the game,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “You have to play that way all the time. Maybe those free throws go in at the end, or at least more often (if a team plays hard).”

After trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, the Blue Devils (19-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) cut Miami’s lead to one, then obtained a stop.

Duke guard Austin Rivers went to free throw line, but made only one of two free throws with a chance to take the lead, sending the contest into overtime.

With the score tied in overtime, Seth Curry missed two free throws.

With Miami (14-7, 5-3) ahead by one later in the extra period, Quinn Cook also missed two free throws.

“We’ve got to make free throws,” Rivers said. “... We just didn’t make free throws, and when you don’t do that, it just doesn’t give you a chance.”

Miami had not beaten Duke in nearly four years and had never won at Cameron Indoor Stadium until Saturday.

Despite forcing 10 turnovers in the second half and even taking two brief leads, Duke could not overcome Johnson or Miami’s dominant first half.

Johnson notched 27 points and 12 rebounds – eight on the offensive end – for his first double-double of the season.

“He got whatever he wanted around the basket,” Duke forward Ryan Kelly said. “He cleaned up every missed shot they had throughout the game.”

The Hurricanes hit 16 of their 34 field goals in the first half, including five 3-pointers, and took a 42-28 lead into halftime.

“Our coach should never have to fight us to fight,” Rivers said. “You can’t come out here and play one half and expect to beat a team like Miami. It’s just not going to work.”

Curry led Duke with 22 points, while Rivers scored 20 points and added nine rebounds.

Duke’s intensity changed after Johnson’s made basket with 15:59 remaining in the second half.

The Blue Devils installed a trap - which allowed them to come back - but the tactic also allowed Miami’s big men free range around the basket. The Hurricanes collected 27 boards in the second half, 12 of them on offense.

“We had to play a lot of trapping at the end of the game, change how we did ball-screen defense,” Krzyzewski said. “As a result, we got a little bit scattered. It forced turnovers, but when you do that, your rebounding responsibilities can get skewed in what you’re doing. ... For the most part, that was a good trade off.”

Kenny Kadji was a nice compliment to Johnson, adding 15 points and chipping in eight rebounds.

In addition to his offensive effort, Johnson virtually took Duke’s Mason Plumlee out of the game.

Plumlee managed just six points on 2-for-7 shooting, never establishing a rhythm on offense.

The Hurricanes, after a lackadaisical start in the conference, have now won four straight ACC games and are two games out of first place.

Duke – after winning 45 straight games at Cameron Indoor – has now lost two straight at home.

The Blue Devils travel to Chapel Hill on Wednesday to take on North Carolina.

“A Duke team should play with energy for 40 minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “If you go outside and look at the banners (in Cameron Indoor), there are quite a few of them up there. They were not won without energy, without hunger, with no complacency, without people really wanting it.”

Nick Piotrowicz can be reached at 407-9952 or at npiotrowicz@
rmtelegram.com.