DURHAM, N.C. — Jayson Tatum scored 14 points before fouling out late and Matt Jones scored all 13 of his points in the second half to help No. 18 Duke rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Miami 70-58 on Saturday.
The Blue Devils struggled to get going in the first and the Hurricanes used it to their advantage to build a healthy lead going into the break.
Acting head coach Jeff Capel opted to change up his lineup to start the second half, leaving the likes of Luke Kennard, Grayson Allen and Harry Giles on the bench and go with the players who brought the most energy in the first half and it worked.
“That group that started the second half gave us life,” Capel said.
Jones fueled the rally with a workman-like performance at both ends of the court, making his first five shots after halftime, including 3-of-3 from 3-pointer to help Duke get out of the hole and build a 21-point lead with 5:14 left.
“We practice with a bunch of different lineups, a bunch of different guys,” said Amile Jefferson.
“We have eight guys that can start at any point, I think, and we have eight guys that are starters, that see themselves that way. That should be the beauty of our team.”
Duke Blue Devils beat Miami Hurricanes in college basketball
Luke Kennard, who is averaging 20.2 points per game entering this one, finished with 11 points, while Amile Jefferson grabbed 12 rebounds in his return from a foot injury for the Blue Devils (15-4, 3-3 ACC).
Davon Reed led Miami with 19 points, Bruce Brown finished with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds and Ja’Quan Newton ended with 13 points in the defeat for the Hurricanes (12-6, 2-4 ACC).
Duke trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and 11 at halftime, but came out firing in the second half to outscore the Hurricanes 45-22.
“It’s a 40-minute game and we only played 20 minutes,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said.
He added: “I think the guys must have thought we won the game at halftime.”
