Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Ryan Kelly wasn't about to miss Senior Night,
and the Duke forward gave the Cameron Crazies a night to remember.
Kelly erupted for a career-high 36 points in his first game action in nearly
two months, enabling the third-ranked Blue Devils to gain a measure of revenge
for their worst loss of the season with a 79-76 ousting of No. 5 Miami-
Florida.
Kelly had missed 13 consecutive games, including Duke's 90-63 dismantling at
the hands of the ACC-leading Hurricanes in Coral Gables on Jan. 23, due to a
right foot injury, but showed absolutely no rust in making good on 10-of-14
field goal attempts that included a 7-of-9 success rate from 3-point range.
And Duke (25-4, 12-4 ACC) needed every one of Kelly's points after the
Hurricanes battled back from a 77-70 deficit with 1 1/2 minutes left to give
themselves several chances to tie or go ahead in the final seconds.
The last attempt, a 3-point try from the left corner from Rion Brown, rimmed
out as time expired to prevent the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-2) from clinching
their first-ever outright ACC regular-season title.
Miami had already locked up the No. 1 seed for the upcoming conference
tournament, however, by virtue of Duke's 73-68 loss at Virginia on Thursday.
Shane Larkin scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half for Miami, which
also received a 17-point, 10-rebound effort from Kenny Kadji in defeat.
Quinn Cook added 15 points for the Blue Devils, who hit on 11-of-23 shots from
beyond the arc to prevail.
GAME NOTES:
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