Clemson delivered one of the most shocking upsets of the season Saturday with a 77-71 win over No. 2 Duke at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Blue Devils entered the weekend riding a 16-game winning streak and were one of two Power Five programs that had yet to lose a game in conference play.
Clemson star Chase Hunter converted a go-ahead layup with 38 seconds remaining to give his team the lead back for good after a back-and-forth final intense moments. The Tigers got a stop on the other end, and forward Viktor Lakhin split a pair of free throws to extend the lead. Lakhin finished with 22 points, while Hunter added 10.
Duke had a chance to tie the game with 18 seconds remaining, but star freshman forward Cooper Flagg slipped and turned the ball over with 14 seconds left. Flagg was held in check during the first half, scoring just four points on 2 of 5 shooting. Flagg scored 14 points after halftime and finished with 18 on 6-of-16 shooting.
Clemson is the first ACC team to win five straight games against top-five ranked teams since Duke accomplished the feat during the 2012-13 season.
Duke led by as many as nine points with less than eight minutes remaining in the first half before Clemson pulled away after intermission.
Clemson was coming off a heartbreaking triple-overtime loss over Georgia Tech earlier in the week. The Tigers are tied for second place in the ACC standings with Louisville (11-2) and trail Duke by just one game for first place.
Duke (20-3, 12-1 ACC) suffered its first loss since losing to Kansas in November. The Blue Devils face Cal next on Wednesday, while Clemson hosts North Carolina on Monday.
This story will be updated
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