Devils ride out Hurricanes' attack

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kyle Singler provided a textbook example for attacking a 2-3 zone defense in the second half of Duke’s 77-74 ACC Tournament semifinal win over Miami on Saturday at Greensboro Coliseum.

He drove to the basket and utilized the screens of his teammates to set up some open jumpers. And when there wasn’t room to make a move inside, he shot over the zone with some well timed 3-pointers.

The junior forward sparked a second-half surge. He scored 17 of his game-high 27 points after the break, and the Blue Devils held off a furious charge by the resurgent Hurricanes to advance to the ACC championship game for the 29th time in school history.

“We were playing against the zone in the first half. In the second half, I thought we attacked it, and (that) was personified by Kyle,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He epitomized how you should attack the zone.”

Duke (28-5), which finished tied for first in the final ACC regular-season standings, will attempt to win its ninth tournament championship in 12 years when it takes on seventh-seeded Georgia Tech today at 1 p.m. in the title game.

“It means a lot for us obviously (to play for another championship),” Blue Devils guard Jon Scheyer said. “Not many teams have been able to win the regular season and the tournament (titles in the same season). Not only that, it’s just a special thing. … (Today) is obviously a great opportunity.”

The top-seeded Blue Devils struggled in a first half that Krzyzewski called “chaotic” and “frazzled.”

A 17-2 Miami run put the Hurricanes (20-13) up 35-32 at halftime, but Duke charged out of the gate after the break.

“I thought our guys had to play a great second half,” Krzyzewski said. “The first half was chaotic, and the second half, I thought we were really good.”

Singler, who also had eight rebounds and six assists, opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers. Then he knocked down another jumper to give the Blue Devils a 40-37 lead.

“In the second half, I pretty much got the ball in some great spots to score the basketball, and I just used our bigs to get open,” Singler said.

Said Miami coach Frank Haith: “Singler just kind of took the game over in the second half, and he was outstanding.”

Duke led for most of the second half, but Miami got very close in the closing seconds.

Hurricanes’ guard DeQuan Jones sank a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left to make it 77-74. Miami didn’t even attempt to foul after that. Time just ran out. Haith said he didn’t think there was enough time to foul and set up another play.

“We wanted to get a trap there at the end. Obviously, I thought there were three seconds left in the game, and if we fouled, I didn’t think we’d have enough time to make a play,” Haith said.

Duke did most of its scoring from the free throw line in the closing minutes. Eleven of its final 15 points came from the foul line.

The Blue Devils were 13 of 15 from the stripe in the final 12 minutes.

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