Louisville 71 - 76 9Duke
Final
  for this game

Duke upends Louisville to claim Atlantis title

Nov 25, 2012 - 5:41 AM Paradise Island, Bahamas (Sports Network) - Mason Plumlee led a balanced attack with 16 points, as No. 5 Duke upended second-ranked Louisville, 76-71, in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Saturday night's game marked the first time Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski matched up against Rick Pitino since 1992. Pitino's only time facing the Blue Devils was when his Kentucky squad fell 104-103 in overtime in the 1992 East Region Championship game in Philadelphia on the dramatic game-winning shot from Christian Laettner.

Quinn Cook totaled 15 points, while Rasheed Sulaimon, Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly all scored 14 for the Blue Devils (6-0), who went 23-of-27 from the foul line, but just 5-of-20 from beyond the arc.

The Blue Devils have won 23 consecutive regular-season tournament games, dating back to the title game of the 2006 CBE Classic.

Peyton Siva had 19 points and six steals, while Russ Smith added 17 points for the Cardinals (5-1), who battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half and grabbed the lead.

Curry's 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes left gave the Blue Devils a 64-61 edge, and Duke remained in front the rest of the way.

Louisville trailed by as many as nine in the opening half, but cut it to 29-28 on Montrezl Harrell's jam with 1:41 remaining. Plumlee's dunk at the other end ignited a 7-0 spurt to end the half with Curry's 3-ball in the closing second providing a 36-28 difference.

Kelly's two free throws with 14:18 remaining moved the Duke lead to 52-41, but Louisville had an ensuing 11-2 push.

The Cardinals finally pushed ahead on Siva's 3-pointer from the top of the arc, but Cook answered at the other end from beyond the arc.

Chane Behanan's jumper tied the game at 61 before Curry's 3-ball moved Duke ahead for good.

Louisville had it at one possession several times down the stretch, but Duke made all six of its foul shots over the final two minutes.

Game Notes

Duke is 6-0 for the sixth straight season ... Duke leads the all-time series, 5-3, but had lost the previous three matchups ... Harrell had 10 points ... This was the first meeting between Duke and Louisville since the 1986 national championship game. Duke dropped a 72-69 decision to the Cardinals in what was Krzyzewski's first Final Four appearance.






Related News