NEW YORK – Freshman Austin Rivers scored 18 points and No. 7 Duke overcame poor free throw shooting to beat Washington 86-80 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
The Blue Devils (9-1) seemed in control, taking a 19-point lead three times in the second half. But the Huskies (4-4) shook off a terrible first half and started chipping away at the deficit. They were able get as close as six points late when Duke, which entered the game shooting 67.4 percent from the line, made just 12 of 18 free throws over the final 2:30, including a stretch where the Blue Devils made 1 of 2 on four consecutive trips.
Abdul Gaddy's drive got Washington within 78-72 with 58 seconds left. The Blue Devils had made 4 of their last eight free throws when Andre Dawkins made two with 57 seconds to go. The free throw shooting was a lot better over the final 51 seconds as the Blue Devils made 6 of 8 with Dawkins making 1 of 2 with 7 seconds left for an 86-77 lead. Terrence Ross hit a long 3 at the buzzer for the final margin.
Dawkins added 17 points for Duke, while Ryan Kelly had 16 and eight rebounds and Mason Plumlee had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Plumlee entered the game shooting 42.3 percent from the line (22 of 52) but was just 2 of 11 on Saturday.
Freshman Tony Wroten had a season-high 23 points for the Huskies while C.J. Wilcox added 22 and Ross had 16.
The Blue Devils were in the building for the first time since Mike Krzyzewski became the winningest men's Division I coach with victory No. 903 last month against Michigan State. They have won 14 of their last 16 games at Madison Square Garden and are 22-7 there under Krzyzewski.
Washington was playing in the Garden for the second time in five days. The Huskies lost 79-77 to No. 11 Marquette in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday. The team got to spend plenty of free time in New York City, seeing Broadway shows and visiting the 9/11 Memorial, but the trip didn't do much for the won-loss record.
Dawkins had 14 points as the Blue Devils took a 40-26 halftime lead, outrebounding the Huskies 27-18 and outscoring them inside 22-10. Washington shot just 32.3 percent in the half (10 of 31). The Huskies were able to even the numbers out, finishing tied at 38 in points in the paint and getting within 41-36 in rebounds. They shot 61.8 percent in the second half (21 of 34).
Kelly, who was 2 of 10 from the field in the first half, scored seven points as Duke opened the second half on a 9-4 run to lead 49-30 with 17:53 to play.
The loss dropped the Pac-12 to 0-10 this season against ranked teams.
