Tyrese Proctor entered Saturday night’s ACC championship 0 for 10 from beyond the 3-point arc in his previous two tournament games.
That didn’t keep him from letting it fly.
Proctor made six 3-pointers and scored 19 points, tournament MVP Kon Knueppel added 18 points and No. 1 Duke defeated 13th-ranked Louisville 73-62 to clinch its second Atlantic Coast Conference championship in three seasons under Jon Scheyer.
“He’s been playing great defense,” Scheyer said. “The shots haven’t been falling for him lately but we knew it was only a matter of time because he’s a killer.”
It was Duke’s 23rd ACC title overall — the most of any team in conference history — and five more than rival North Carolina, who the Blue Devils knocked off 74-71 in a semifinal thriller. The Blue Devils also won the ACC regular-season title.
“Two down and one to go,” Knueppel said, referring to the upcoming NCAA Tournament in which the Blue Devils are a lock to be the No. 1 overall seed.
Sion James added 15 points for Duke (31-3), which played its final two tournament games without ACC player of the year Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown due to injuries.
“Every game this season, everyone standing behind me stepped and tonight was no different,” Scheyer said. “So many guys made winning plays and that has been the story of this team.”
Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 29 points on five 3s for Louisville (27-7), which was playing in its first ACC final since joining the league in 2014. The Cardinals went 18-2 in the conference play during the regular season under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey after going 5-37 vs. ACC foes in the previous two seasons.
Kelsey praised his team for “leaving everything on the floor” over the past three days.
“In the last three months this team has lost twice,” Kelsey said. “So I feel strongly in my heart that the best is yet to come. … We are excited to find out (during selection Sunday) where we are going and who are playing.”
Added Edwards: “We are far from done.”
There were nine lead changes and neither team led by more than five before Duke broke the game open with a 12-0 run midway through the second half behind a 3 from Proctor in transition to build a 57-47 lead.
“We have a special group,” Scheyer said. “They are connected. They show incredible fight and incredible heart and that is what they did tonight.”
Takeaways
Louisville: Hepburn has been the team’s offensive catalyst this season, but Edwards’ recent play gives the Cardinals the needed scoring punch that could takes them deep into the NCAA Tournament. Edwards has averaged 24.8 points over the last six games. “He’s been on a tear, for sure,” Kelsey said.
Duke: The Blue Devils defense in the tournament was outstanding. They held Louisville to 9-of-35 shooting in the second half to pull away.
Key moment
Patrick Ngongba II’s spinning drive along the baseline and two free throws on the ensuing drive gave Duke a 13-point lead with less than five minutes to play.
Key stat
Proctor entered the game 6 of 29 from beyond the arc over his last seven games.
Up next
Both teams await their seed in the NCAA Tournament.
