Mark Mitchell and Jared McCain boost No. 14 Duke past Syracuse 86-66

Updated Jan. 3, 2024 12:05 a.m. ET

Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mark Mitchell scored 18 of his career-high 21 points in the first half and Jared McCain finished with 18 points to lead No. 14 Duke over Syracuse 86-66 on Tuesday night.

Duke made all eight 3-point attempts after halftime and finished by shooting 75% from the field in the second half.

The Blue Devils have made at least one 3-point shot in every game for nearly 34 years.

The latest burst of 3s came at a good time.

“It got us going,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, we have some lethal shooters. It was the law of averages that we’d make some.”

Jeremy Roach’s 17 points and Tyrese Proctor’s 14 points were a boost from Duke’s backcourt. Kyle Filipowski posted all 12 of his points in the second half as the Blue Devils (10-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) increased their winning streak to five games.

It was a huge turnaround in shooting after halftime. The Blue Devils were 0-for-9 on first-half 3s, then built a double-digit lead by hitting seven in a row.

“We talked about not making any 3s,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I thought we missed maybe three or four that were good ones. We do make open shots, so just let it come.”

Maliq Brown had 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting and Judah Mintz added 18 points for Syracuse (10-4, 1-2), which was 4-for-16 on 3-pointers and committed 17 turnovers as a five-game winning streak was halted.

“It was turnovers. I thought everything that happened, it was a lot on us,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “Duke is a good defensive team, A lot of our turnovers were not making the right play, the right read. It wasn’t about our shooting.”

McCain drained four 3-pointers in the first 10:10 of the second half to push Duke to a 65-51 lead. He has five straight games with at least three 3-point baskets.

“I knew I didn’t make a 3 (in the first half),” McCain said. “I didn’t know it was everybody else, too.”

Syracuse was within 49-47 before Proctor’s 3 and two free throws and McCain’s 3-pointer produced an 8-0 run.

“One thing we try to do is eliminate those runs,” Autry said. “Sometimes you start forcing and … we rushed some stuff.”

Duke led 35-33 at the halftime, with Mitchell’s 18 points putting the sophomore forward within two of his career high.

It was the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams. It came 10 years after former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s often-replayed storming onto the Cameron Indoor Stadium court and subsequent ejection in the waning seconds of Duke’s narrow victory.

BIG PICTURE

Syracuse: The Orange had trouble getting untracked on offense and that finally caught up to them when the perimeter defense hit snags. Even with Brown’s best offensive outing of his career, the Orange lost for the ninth consecutive meeting with Duke.

Duke: The Blue Devils have connected on at least one 3-point shot in 1,202 consecutive games and so they were bound to get going from behind the arc. Duke shot above 50% from the field for the fourth time in the last five games.

UP NEXT

Syracuse: Host Boston College on Jan. 10.

Duke: Visit Notre Dame on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball