Clemson Drops Duke, 74-47

Feb. 4, 2009

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CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Trevor Booker scored 21 points, Terrence Oglesby had five 3-pointers and No. 10 Clemson beat No. 4 Duke 74-47 on Wednesday night, the first time the Tigers had consecutive wins over the Blue Devils in 13 years.

Clemson (19-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a 20-8 run over the last 8 minutes of the first to take a 33-21 lead. The Tigers extended the lead to as many as 23 points.

Duke (19-3, 6-2) had won 22 straight over Clemson – most in blowout fashion – since the Tigers won three straight in the series in the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.

The Blue Devils’ run of success ended last March in the ACC tournament semifinals when Clemson beat them 78-74. Booker and the Tigers made sure the regular-season streak ended at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Unlike last week when they fought back from 13 points down to tie Wake Forest in the final minute before losing 70-68, the Blue Devils had no response to Clemson’s relentless attack.

Booker’s two-handed jam with 8:16 left put Clemson up 61-39 – and the began at Littlejohn.

Fans mobbed the court when it was finished, joyously celebrating what they hadn’t watched here since 1997 – a Clemson win over Duke.

It was Clemson’s biggest blowout of Duke since 1975, a 100-66 home victory.

Oglesby finished with 17 points and K.C. Rivers tied a Clemson record with seven steals.

Gerald Henderson led Duke with 16 points.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski spent most of the second half in his seat, hands over his mouth. Three times he subbed his entire squad to find a spark, but the Blue Devils never got closer than 20 points over the last 9 minutes.

It was Duke’s fewest points this season, and its lowest scoring performance since a 54-51 win over Indiana in 2006.

The loss at Wake Forest dropped Duke from No. 1. This defeat might show the rest of the ACC what happens when you press the Blue Devils from start to finish.

The Tigers’ end-to-end defense began to wear down the usually unflappable Blue Devils

Lance Thomas tied things up at 13-all with 12:03 remaining. That’s when Clemson took off on an 20-8 run to close the half.

The Blue Devils hit only three of their final 12 shots of the half, an 8-minute stretch where they committed seven of their 11 first-half turnovers.

One of the ACC’s most productive 3-point-shooting teams with almost seven a game, Duke was ice cold the first 20 minutes going 1-of-6 behind the arc. They finished 3-of-13 on 3s.