close
close

Mitchell, Filipowski lead No. 9 Duke past Wake Forest 77-69 – Winnipeg Free Press

Posted on by Neons

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mark Mitchell remained on both ends of the offensive line, while Kyle Filipowski scored in the paint and attacked the glass.

“It's hard to get Mark Mitchell or Kyle Filipowski off the field when they're playing like that,” Duke coach John Scheier said.

Mitchell scored 23 points and Filipowski had his first double-double in three weeks as the ninth-ranked Blue Devils held off the Demon Deacons for a 77-69 win on Monday night.

Wake Forest's Afton Reed III (4) holds the ball as Duke's Kyle Filipowski defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
Wake Forest's Afton Reed III (4) holds the ball as Duke's Kyle Filipowski defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

The 6-foot-9, 232-pound Mitchell made 9 of 14 shots, including eight rebounds and two blocks for an intense and physical presence to the perimeter, while the 7-foot Filipowski added 21 points and 10 rebounds. hitting his last four hits — for the Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).

They joined freshman Jared McCain (17 points, 10 rebounds) to play all 20 minutes of the second half.

“Obviously, they have a very good frontcourt … and we knew it was going to be a battle,” Mitchell said. “Those guys came to fight, we came to fight.”

Indeed, Duke responded several times to push Wake Forest (16-8, 8-5) to two possessions for most of the second half. But the demonic deacons could never overtake the blue devils.

Wake Forest was chasing its first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since January 1997 in the big season of big star Tim Duncan. The Demon Deacons had several possession opportunities in the second half, but Damari Monsanto led his team to five points and missed a 3-pointer, and then the Demon Deacons made another one after his first miss.

Moments later, after Mitchell's free throw made the margin 75-69, Monsanto missed another 3 from the top. Mitchell recovered the ball and eventually took the lead in transition to clinch for the final margin.

Hunter Sallis scored 22 points for the Demon Deacons, who fell out of sync with error-limited big man Efton Reed III. Wake Forest made just 6 of 26 3-pointers, marking the fourth time in six games that a team ranked in the top 20 nationally has failed to shoot 30% from deep.

“We missed a lot of open shots,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said later, “There's no answer for everything, folks. Sometimes the ball doesn't go into the hole. Find other ways of doing things.''

THE BIG PICTURE

Wake Forest: The numbers are already the same as Wake Forest's (No. 28 in KenPom, No. 35 in the NET), but the Demon Deacons have work to do to make an NCAA Tournament bid. They entered Monday night at 0-3 in Quadrant 1 games, a streak that continued last season with their best non-conference win against Florida. It was the first of five opportunities in the first quarter, including a Feb. 24 home opener against Duke.

Duke head coach John Scheyer, front right, leads his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
Duke head coach John Scheyer, front right, leads his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

“I don't know if you don't think this is a tournament team,” Scheier said.

Herzog: It was a nice boost for Filipowski after a couple of disappointing showings since posting his first double-double since posting 17 points and 15 rebounds against Louisville on Jan. 23. This has helped him avoid bad issues after recent issues. too.