Allen, Kennard Lead Duke Past NC State 88-80

DURHAM, N.C., Sporting Alert – Grayson Allen scored 28 points, Luke Kennard finished with 26, and Duke used several mini streaks in the second half to beat North Carolina State 88-80 on Saturday. Box Score

Allen shot 6-of-11 from the floor and 4-for-7 from 3-point range while dishing out four assists.

Kennard buried six 3-pointers and was 9-of-15 from the floor while pulling down four rebounds for the Blue Devils (17-6, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) who won two straight since dropping out of the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2007.

“Luke’s the type of guy that can just rattle off four or five 3s in a row like that, he can get real hot and it’s fun to play with someone like that,” Allen told reporters after the game.

“We were both able to get hot from 3. … Luke was just getting open, knocking them down and that makes everyone else get open more.”

Brandon Ingram added 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks for Duke, which welcome back head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who returned to the sideline after missing the last game due to illness.

Marshall Plumlee added 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who shot 50 percent from the floor and 49 percent from the field.

ACC leading scorer Anthony Barber finished with 26 points, six assists and four rebounds for NC State, while Maverick Rowan hit four 3-pointers and ended with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting overall from the floor in the win.

“That kid is really good,” coach Krzyzewski said about Barber. “He’s the toughest out in the league.”

He added: “Don’t judge how good a guy is just by the record of his team. Because they’re close to winning five more games, but he gives them a chance to win every game.”

Abdul-Malik Abu added 16 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and Cody Martin chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Wolfpack (12-12, 2-9), who also shot 50 percent from the floor.

NC State has now dropped two straight and four in the last five games. The team also sits third from the bottom in the ACC standings with just two wins.

Duke, which shot 75 percent overall from the free throw line, was 20 for 25 in the second half from that department, which helped the Blue Devils to hold off the Wolfpack every time they threatened to cut into the lead.

After trailing by 13 points in the second half, NC State managed to close the gap to three points three times in the final 4:49, but Duke kept knocking down shots and making its free throws to secure the win.