Mason Plumlee had 21 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds, and No. 2 Duke rallied late and held on to beat No. 4 Ohio State 73-68 on Wednesday night.
Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon scored all 17 points in the second half. Ryan Kelly added 15 and hit 3-pointers on consecutive trips downcourt early during the 20-7 run that put the Blue Devils (7-0) ahead to stay and sent them to their third win over a top-five team this month.
Deshaun Thomas scored 16 points for Ohio State (4-1), while Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. had 11 apiece.
Shannon Scott pulled the Buckeyes within 66-64 with a free throw with 28.9 seconds left before Quinn Cook sealed it by hitting six free throws in the final 27.3 seconds.
Cook finished with 12 points for Duke, which shot 58 percent in the second half to remain unbeaten at home in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and preserve its school-record winning streak at home against nonconference opponents.
The Blue Devils – who beat then-No. 3 Kentucky in Atlanta and then-No. 2 Louisville in the Bahamas – won their 97th straight against non-ACC visitors to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But for much of the way, nothing came easy for them. They were outrebounded 40-37, couldn’t get anything going on the offensive glass, struggled to keep up with Ohio State’s quick ball movement and couldn’t find their touch.
Then came the flurry of 3-pointers that put them in control.
Sulaimon buried one from the key to pull the Blue Devils within 51-50 with about 6 1/2 minutes left. Kelly then hit 3s on consecutive trips down the court, including one in Amir Williams’ face that put Duke ahead to stay, 56-53 – its first lead since the 14-minute mark of the first half.
Plumlee then followed up Cook’s missed layup with a dunk that made it 58-54 with 4 minutes left and sent the rowdy Cameron crowd into ear-splitting madness.
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