Kelly, No. 3 Duke edge Miami
DURHAM, N.C. — Ryan Kelly had waited two months for the chance to help his Duke teammates reclaim the form that made them the nation’s top-ranked team.
He returned with a performance that shook up No. 5 Miami and left his Hall of Fame coach struggling for the right words.
The senior scored a career-high 36 points in his return from a foot injury that had sidelined him since January, helping the third-ranked Blue Devils beat the Hurricanes 79-76 on Saturday in a matchup of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top teams.
“I guess I was ready for it,” Kelly said. “That’s all I can say.”
Kelly knocked down 10 of 14 shots — including 7 of 9 3-pointers — as the Blue Devils (25-4, 12-4 ACC) avenged a blowout road loss in January by grinding out a tough win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He also went 9-for-12 from the foul line and had seven rebounds in 32 minutes.
It left Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski joking to reporters that he was interested to read how they’d describe Kelly’s big night.
“Me saying ‘spectacular’ or whatever doesn’t do his performance justice,” Krzyzewski said. “One for the ages. Probably as good a performance as any player has had — a Duke player has had — in Cameron.”
Kelly’s performance was the highlight of a game that lived up to the teams’ lofty rankings. Miami led by seven in the first half and by two at the break, while Duke never led by more than five until the last three minutes.
Quinn Cook had 15 points, including a 3-pointer that put Duke up by 10 with 1:55 left.
But the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-2) made a frantic rally and missed two 3s in the final seconds to tie it. Shane Larkin came up short on the first over Kelly. Durand Scott ran down the rebound and fired a pass to the left corner to Rion Brown, whose final 3 clanged off the rim as the horn sounded.
Larkin scored 25 points to lead Miami, and Kenny Kadji added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Kelly’s season high was 22 points and his career-best was 23 points before Saturday. He had missed 13 straight games with the right foot injury, though he gradually had been increasing his work in practice in recent days before going back in the starting lineup Saturday.
“Well, I thought we prepared for Ryan Kelly but obviously not for that Ryan Kelly,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said.
ROUNDUP
• ZAGS STAKE CLAIM TO NO. 1 — At Spokane, Wash., Elias Harris had 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 2 Gonzaga routed Portland 81-52 to stake its claim to its first No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press’ Top 25. Kelly Olynyk had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (29-2, 16-0 West Coast), who have won 12 straight and 18 in a row over the Pilots (11-20, 4-12) dating to 2003.
• LOUISVILLE EDGES SYRACUSE — At Syracuse, N.Y., Luke Hancock hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining to send No. 10 Louisville (24-5, 12-4 Big East) to a 58-53 victory over No. 12 Syracuse (22-7, 10-6). Russ Smith scored 18 points to lead the Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Orange.
• K-STATE WINS AT BUZZER — At Waco, Texas, Rodney McGruder had 18 points, including a 3-pointer at the final buzzer, to lift No. 13 Kansas State (24-5, 13-3 Big 12) to a 64-61 win over Baylor (17-12, 8-8). McGruder caught an inbounds pass with one second left before his key shot, which kept the Wildcats tied with Kansas atop the Big 12.
• MARQUETTE STAYS HOT AT HOME — At Milwaukee, Jamil Wilson had 19 points and Chris Otule 16 as No. 22 Marquette (21-7, 12-4 Big East) posted its 25th straight home win, 72-64 over No. 21 Notre Dame (22-7, 10-6). Jerian Grant had 21 points for the Fighting Irish, whose top scorer, Jack Cooley, had the flu. He shot 0 of 1 in 15 minutes.
