Duke Comes Back To Top UNC

February 28, 1998 / 9:14 PM EST / CBS/AP

It was almost enough to put some doubt in the minds of the Cameron Crazies. Almost.

Top-ranked Duke was down big again to No. 3 North Carolina, only this time it was at home and a loss would mean a season sweep for its archrival and sharing the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

Then came a closing run even more impressive than the one in North Carolina's victory earlier in the month. The Blue Devils held North Carolina to two field goals over the final 11 ½ minutes to wipe out a 17-point deficit and win 77-75 Saturday.

"The last 11 ½ minutes were the best, at least for us," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "All I did was ask our players to be themselves throughout the game. Our man-to-man defense was terrific."

It had to be because the Tar Heels, who won the first meeting 97-73 by closing the game with a 24-4 run, were up 64-47 when Antawn Jamison scored down low with 11:41 to play. Those were the last of his 23 points, and North Carolina managed just two more field goals.

There also was some solid offense by the Blue Devils, who scored on all but two of their last 12 possessions, getting the ball inside to freshman Elton Brand. He didn't play in the first game between the schools eight miles apart because of a broken foot.

"It was a helpless feeling watching that first game," said Brand, who finished with 16 points 13 in the second half on 6-of-7 shooting. "I just wanted to let them know I was there. Maybe move them a step away offensively and intimidate them some defensively."

The Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1) were still trailing 68-57 with 8:12 left.

"The game is 40 minutes, and we know if everybody goes hard for 40 minutes we have a chance to be there at the end," said Duke Point guard Steve Wojciechowski.

Trajan Langdon's jumper with 8:02 left brought the Blue Devils within 68-59, the first time the lead was less than double figures since there was 18:25 left in the game. Brand, playing in his third game since returning from the injury, scored twice down low.

After two North Carolina free throws, William Avery, another member of Duke's heralded freshman class, hit a 3-pointer with 5:58 left to make it 70-66.

Duke continued its near-perfect close as the Tar Heels (27-3, 13-3) struggled with an uncharacteristic five turnovers in the final seven minutes, and the raucous sellout crowd of 9,314 at Cameron Indoor Stadium became a factor.

Chris Carrawell scored in the lane with 2:02 left to bring the Blue Devils into a 75-75 tie. After a turnover, Roshown McLeod scored on a drive for Duke's first lead of the game, 77-75 with 1:01 to play.

North Carolina had two final chances to tie, but Ed Cota missed two free throws with 9.5 seconds let, and freshman Brendan Haywood did the same with 1.2 seconds left. Both missed the second shot on purpose. The Tar Heels got the rebound the first time, but not the second.

The crowd poured onto the court at the final buzzer, engulfing the players from both teams as Duke beat the Tar Heels for the second time in their last 12 meetings.

"We didn't handle some things well," North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge said. "We threw the ball away a couple of times. We didn't get the shots we wanted to get. I think we could have won had we kept scoring, but we couldn't stop them inside."

Jamison, who had 35 points in the first game, wasn't giving Duke much credit.

"The last five minutes we just gave it away," he said. "We didn't get the ball inside at all. It wasn't their defense at all. We didn't do a good job of offensive execution."

McLeod had 23 points and Langdon had 17 for the Blue Devils, who set a record for conference victories in a season. Wojciechowski had one point, but finished with 11 assists and only one turnover.

"That was one of the great one-point performances in the history of the game," Krzyzewski said. "He was remarkable today. Not good, remarkable."

Shammond Williams added 15 points for the Tar Heels, and Vince Carter had 14. Jamison had 13 rebounds as North Carolina finished with a 40-24 advantage on the boards. That was the only way he got the ball in the final minutes.

"We don't purposefully stop (going to him)," Guthridge said. "I think Duke was doing a great job of having a couple of guys around him."

"We just couldn't get it to him, and it's on the defensive end that a crowd can get you going defensively, and they did get going."

Brand said the Blue Devils didn't do anything special defensively.

"Really, it was our will to win," he said. "We just had to stop them. There was no secret double team. There were no adjustments at all."

North Carolina took an 18-4 lead, meaning it had outscored Duke 42-8 over the last 5:30 of the previous game and the opening 4:55 Saturday.

The ACC title was Duke's 12th outright and fifth in the 1990s.

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