Bagley’s big 2nd half leads No. 5 Duke past No. 9 UNC

DURHAM, N.C. — Marvin Bagley III had 18 of his 21 points in the second half along with 15 rebounds, and No. 5 Duke pulled away to beat No. 9 North Carolina 74-64 on Saturday night.

Grayson Allen added 15 points in his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Gary Trent Jr. had 13 points — including three 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes — to help the Blue Devils (25-6, 13-5) clinch the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Duke was 8 of 15 from 3-point range in the second half — the Blue Devils made just 1 of 10 from that distance in the first half — and outrebounded North Carolina 24-13 after halftime.

Cameron Johnson scored 16 points for the Tar Heels (22-9, 11-7), while Kenny Williams and Luke Maye each had 13. Three weeks after they rallied from a double-figure deficit to beat their fiercest rivals, it was the Blue Devils’ turn to flip the script.

Duke trailed by 11 with 14 1/2 minutes to play before the ACC’s top offense finally found its rhythm, hitting four 3s in 4 1/2 minutes to erase that deficit. That came as part of a 25-10 burst keyed by six 3s that put the Blue Devils ahead to stay.

BIG PICTURE

North Carolina: The Tar Heels had a chance to spoil Duke’s Senior Night for the third time in their last four regular-season-ending visits to Cameron, and sweep their fiercest rivals. Instead they’ll enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak.

Duke: This very well might have been the final game at Cameron for a good chunk of the starting five, with Allen — the team’s lone senior — surrounded by three potential one-and-done freshmen and coach Mike Krzyzewski acknowledging in the leadup to the game that “it’s the last game probably for a few of our other kids, too.” The offense came alive just in time to send Allen — and maybe the others — out the way they wanted.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: Heads to the ACC Tournament next week in Brooklyn.

Duke: Heads to the ACC Tournament next week in Brooklyn.