Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Seth Curry battled through an ankle injury to
hit 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range, leading No. 3 Duke to a 73-57 victory
over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Curry, who finished with 24 points, was hurt in the waning moments of the Blue
Devils' first loss of the season, an 84-76 setback at then-No. 20 NC State on
Saturday.
Rasheed Sulaimon scored 15 points for Duke (16-1, 3-1 ACC), which got off to a
cold start against Georgia Tech but heated up after halftime.
Mason Plumlee, much like the rest of his Duke teammates, shook off a poor
shooting performance in the first half to record his conference-best 11th
double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Freshman Chris Bolden paced the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 0-4) with a season-high
20 points.
The Blue Devils shot just 27.3 percent during the opening 20 minutes, with
Plumlee epitomizing the team's struggles. The senior made only 2-of-12 field
goals.
"As a player, you can't get frustrated," Plumlee said. "You just have to tell
yourself they're going to fall, and then you've got to convince your teammates
to keep giving you the ball."
Duke's defense, however, forced 13 Georgia Tech turnovers, a key reason the
Blue Devils were down only 28-27 at halftime.
Following the break, the Blue Devils came out firing and opened the second
half on a 17-3 surge. Curry capped the run with a 3-pointer that put Duke up
44-31.
Curry drained another trey to make it 57-42 with 7:48 remaining, and the Blue
Devils led comfortably the rest of the way.
"I thought we played extremely hard and competed, which was our number one
objective," said Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory.
Game Notes
Duke has won six straight games against Georgia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium
... The Yellow Jackets are off to their worst start in conference play since
opening 0-6 in 2008-09 ... Duke shot 53.1 percent in the second half ... No
Georgia Tech player had previously scored as many as 20 points in a game this
season ... Mfon Udofia and Daniel Miller had nine points apiece for the Yellow
Jackets ... Georgia Tech held a 43-40 rebounding advantage, with Miller
grabbing nine.
Wolfpack lose to UCLA in CWS Nick Vander Tuig and David Berg combined to limit NC State to five hits, and the Wolfpack lost 2-1 on Tuesday night to move within a game of elimination in their first College World Series appearance since 1968.
Tar Heels stay alive with win over LSU Brian Holberton staked freshman starter Trent Thornton to a two-run lead before he even took the mound Tuesday, and No. 1 national seed Carolina went on to beat LSU 4-2 in an elimination game.
Avent: UCLA doesn't make mistakes North Carolina State University head coach Elliott Avent discusses his team's 2-1 loss to UCLA in its second game at the 2013 College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Fox: You could feel it in our dugout UNC head coach Mike Fox said that between Trent Thornton's start and Brian Holberton's home run, the energy in the Tar Heels dugout was high all game in a win over LSU at the College World Series.
Thornton: You want to play teams like that UNC winning pitcher Tuesday Trent Thornton said that getting the start in the College World Series was a dream come true and as a competitor, he wants to throw against the best teams possible.
Moran: It's huge to get an early lead UNC third baseman Colin Moran said that the key to Tuesday's win over LSU in an elimination game was getting an early lead.
Holberton: We just don't want to lose UNC catcher Brian Holberton said that after beating LSU in an elimination game Tuesday, the team took on a don't-want-to-lose mentality.
Unplayable Lies talks US Open Adam Gold and TD Luten talk about Merion as the real star of US Open week. Plus, Phil didn't blow it, Tiger may have and why Justin Rose is a great champion. Also, we look ahead to Rex Hospital Open week at Wakefield.
Internal issues sinking the Heat? Ethan Norof, NBA Assistant Editor for Bleacher Report weighs in on what's gone wrong in the Finals for LeBron and the Heat with The World's Strongest Morning Show on 620 the Buzz.
Hadley excited to be playing at home Golfer Chesson Hadley discusses playing in The Rex Open this week with The World's Strongest Morning Show on 620 the Buzz.