No. 12 Arizona basketball snaps No. 2 Duke’s home winning streak with full team effort
Nov 10, 2023, 7:45 PM | Updated: 10:22 pm
Keshad Johnson #16 and Pelle Larsson #3 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrate after a win against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 10, 2023 in Durham, North Carolina. Arizona won 78-73. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
No. 12 Arizona basketball’s Keshad Johnson finished through contact to tie Friday’s top-25 matchup at No. 2 Duke in the final minute on Friday in Durham.
Johnson knocked down the free throw to take a 70-69 lead, and a traveling violation against Duke’s Tyrese Proctor allowed the Wildcats to extend the lead to three at the line with 18 seconds left.
Arizona’s Caleb Love and Pelle Larsson hit six clutch free throws down the stretch, and KJ Lewis threw down an emphatic slam at the horn following a steal to close a 78-73 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Highest-ranked non-conference road win in program history ✅
No. 12 Arizona downs No. 2 Duke in Durham. Highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/B5yiazkztk
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) November 11, 2023
To begin head coach Tommy Lloyd’s third season 2-0, Arizona snapped Duke’s 17-game home winning streak dating back to 2021-22.
“I know a lot will be made of us winning here,” Lloyd said. “Duke’s obviously a great program. … But we’re on a longer journey than this.”
Love, who transferred from North Carolina, waved goodbye to the “Cameron Crazies” he’s gotten to know over the years.
All five Wildcats starters finished with double-digit points, led by Johnson’s 14.
Kylan Boswell was everywhere, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five assists with only one turnover. He dove for loose balls and stole the ball twice. Larsson also scored 12 points with six boards, and he knocked the ball away for the game-sealing takeaway.
Friday’s battle had 10 lead changes, although Duke never led by more than two points at any point. Arizona controlled the boards 45-33 (29-15 in the first half) and outscored Duke in the paint 42-34 despite Blue Devils center Kyle Filipowski leading all scorers with 25 points.
“Small or big or whatever, it’s still about effort,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “It’s still about blocking out and pursuing the ball. We’re going to find a few times tonight when we stood and watched.”
The Wildcats took a 41-33 advantage into halftime after Love nailed a buzzer-beater 3-pointer off the window with a man in his face.
CALEB LOVE BANKS IT IN TO BEAT THE HALFTIME BUZZER 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/gXXsBfpxn4
— ESPN (@espn) November 11, 2023
The Blue Devils opened the second half on 7-2 run and took a 54-52 lead with 12:46 remaining, and from that point on the two sides were never separated by more than six points.
Coming off an early Quad 1 win, the Wildcats will be back in action at McKale Center on Monday against Southern.
Keshad Johnson poster
Love found Johnson on a pick-and-roll, and the forward elevated over the seven-foot Flipowski for a poster dunk in the second half.
ON. HIS. HEAD. @kj_showtime0
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/qBA1Iaa7xX
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) November 11, 2023
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
