Duke Blue Devils

The Duke Blue Devils took the win over Florida State 79-69, for their ninth Atlantic Coast Championship in 12 years.

Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson scored 29 and 27 points, respectively, to lead their team with 5 steals, and only 4 turnovers. They out rebounded the Seminoles 35-34.

“We put in a lot of work to build this team to where it is today,” Henderson said. “This is such an accomplishment for us. We’ve waited a long time for it. It feels good.”

Florida’s horrible shooting, only landing five of 23 and 13 turnovers contributed to the loss.

Toney Douglas, who seemed to carry most of the team, led the Seminoles with 28 points and Chris Singleton added 15.

Florida’s final lead of the game came on a three pointer by Douglas to bring the Seminoles to 11-9 with 13:29 still left in the first half.

“We’re still a team that’s learning and in growth,” Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We’re not quite as efficient on some areas like I think we will be after another year of experience.”

Douglas ignite a 15-7 run in the last seven minutes to cut Dukes lead to 42-36, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done.

“He’s my favorite non-Duke player in the country,” Krzyzewski said. “I love that guy. I talk about him a lot to our guys, and they’re probably mad at me for talking about him as much as I do. He’s as good as there is in college. He’s a kid I’d love to coach; no question about it.”

But the Devils answered with 14 straight points-all but two of which came from behind the three point line. Kyle Singler ended the run with three treys with eight minutes until the half for a 23-11 lead.

“They were shooting better from the three than they were from the two,” said Hamilton, the ACC’s Coach of the Year. “There were several times I thought we did a good job of contesting them. But great players make great plays.”

Going into the break Duke led 35-21, and Florida failed to take the lead in the second half.

Head coach Mike Kryzyzewski closed out his 30th year coaching on a good note. Duke has won 25 or more games for the 17th time under Kryzyzewski. They’ve shot the most three pointers of any team in the ACC. They’ve claimed the third seed in NCAA history 10 times, and celebrated three national championships. And now they have tied with rivals North Carolina for the most wins in the ACC. Each has 84.

“My class, the junior class, that’s been here the last two years, we know what it feels like to lose those N.C.A.A. games,” forward Lance Thomas said. “Come this time of the year, we’re not trying to feel that any more. I’ve felt it twice, and it’s not something I want to go out with. We want more.”

Alex Ward is a writer for LeatherBeltStore.com you can check out his Duke Blue Devil Belts or Duke Blue Devil Wallets or his Groomsman Gifts