DURHAM, N.C. — Zion Williamson scored 32 points, RJ Barrett recorded a triple-double and No. 2 Duke beat North Carolina State 94-78 Saturday night to stay atop of the Atlantic Coast Conference Standings.
Embed from Getty ImagesWilliamson, who was scoring 30 or more points for the third time this season, shot 12 of16 from the floor on the night and also had six rebounds and three steals at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Barrett added 23 points. 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first college career triple-double, while Tre Jones added 13 points and five assists for the Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1 ACC), who were winning nine straight.
Barrett became the first Duke player with triple-double in 13 years. He is the fourth Duke player to record a triple-double and the first since Shelden Williams in January 2006.
“My teammates were obviously finishing, and it was great to play with them, especially Zion especially at the end, just grabbing everything, finishing everything,” Barrett said.
Torin Dorn scored 17 points for NC State, with Markell Johnson collecting a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists in the defeat.
C.J. Bryce ended with 13 points and five rebounds for the Wolfpack (18-7, 6-6), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
The travelers were also losing four in the last six outings.
As a team, Duke shot 35 of 66 overall from the field for 53.0 percent, but was only 3 for 16 from 3-point range.
NC State went 33 of 66 from the field for 50.0 percent and was 6 for 19 from long-range.
The Blue Devils dominated the rebounding column – finishing with a 44-26 advantage and scored 22 points off 12 turnovers by Wolfpack.
“You’ve got to cut down on your mistakes and you’ve got to be able to rebound the basketball,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said.
“But I like my team. We’ve fought and competed against every team in this league.”
Duke returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts North Carolina.
N.C. State will entertain Boston College also on Wednesday night.
