NEW YORK— Luke Kennard had an ugly first half, and Duke leaned on freshmen Jayson Tatum and Frank Jackson to build a double-digit lead against Clemson.
Then the Tigers rallied, and Kennard put down the uprising.
Kennard made two clutch jumpers in the final 2:04 and No. 14 Duke beat Clemson 79-72 on Wednesday to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.
The fifth-seeded Blue Devils (24-8) will play fourth-seeded and No. 8 Louisville today at Barclays Center.
Jaron Blossomgame led Clemson (17-15) with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Amazing shot
Wake Forest reserve forward Greg McClinton electrified his teammates — and the buzzing Brooklyn crowd — when he connected on an amazing heave from behind the elbow of his own foul line at the end of the first half Wednesday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament against Virginia Tech.
With a second on the clock, the Hokies tried a long pass from their own baseline to the other end of the court. The pass missed its intended target, McClinton grabbed the loose ball on one bounce and let fly with a one-handed fling just before the horn sounded.
Lo and behold, the ball went in — to the surprise of everyone in the arena. Indeed, even McClinton had started to turn away and head for the locker room before the ball went through.
Excited teammates mobbed McClinton on the baseline as he raised his arms and the Barclays Center crowd roared. Officials reviewed the replay, and the basket counted. Virginia Tech went on to win the game 99-90.
MAC awards
CLEVELAND — Akron’s Keith Dambrot and Zips center Isaiah Johnson are the Mid-American Conference’s coach and player of the year.
Dambrot led Akron to a 24-7 record in the regular season and the top seed in this week’s conference tournament.
Johnson averaged 16.2 points and made 63 percent of his shots while leading the Zips to consecutive MAC East titles.
Hall of Fame
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wake Forest star Tim Duncan, Gonzaga’s John Stockton and Duke standout Jay Williams headline the seven-member class that will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.
Also entering the Hall of Fame are Winston-Salem State’s Cleo Hill, Indiana’s Scott May, Purdue star Rick Mount, Creighton’s Paul Silas and Bo Ryan, who coached Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Platteville.
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