Baylor Bears at Duke Blue Devils

No. 21 Duke gets big boost from backup Ryan Young in 78-70 win over No. 10 Baylor at MSG

Jared McCain scored 21 points and Young was right in the middle of the decisive late surge as the Blue Devils beat No. 10 Baylor 78-70 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Jeremy Roach added 18 points and Kyle Filipowski had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Duke (8-3) in a pre-holiday matchup between two of the past eight national champions.

“I thought we were more mentally tough down the stretch, which is what this program has been about,” coach Jon Scheyer said after his team held Baylor more than 18 points below its season average. “Really proud of this game.”

RayJ Dennis had 17 points and Ja’Kobe Walter scored 15 for the Bears (9-2), who lost for the second time in five days. Freshman center Yves Missi had 11 points — all in the first half — to go with 10 rebounds and five blocks.

“We stopped sharing the ball,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

The score was tied at 61 with six minutes left before Duke reeled off nine straight points as part of a 14-1 run to take control. Filipowski, the 7-foot preseason Associated Press All-American, was on the bench with four fouls when Roach fed Young for the go-ahead layup.

Roach then hit a stepback jumper and Young found McCain for a 3-pointer before grabbing a tough rebound and sinking two free throws to cap the 9-0 spurt.

“I was just able to find my spots. I work on these shots every day,” said McCain, a freshman guard from California. “I’m in New York at Christmas time, going to see the Rockefeller tree tomorrow. ... There’s no words to describe it. Just amazing."

Young, a fifth-year captain from nearby New Jersey who plays limited minutes, received a huge ovation from Duke fans in the crowd of 18,512 when he went back to the bench. His four points (plus two rebounds and a steal) in 8:41 on the court pushed him past 1,000 in a career that began at Northwestern.

“He had the best sequence of the game,” Scheyer said. “Flip should be buying Ryan dinner after what he did down the stretch.”

INJURY REPORT

Duke freshman Caleb Foster had 12 points and five rebounds. He started again for injured point guard Tyrese Proctor, who missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle. Proctor got hurt early in a 72-68 loss Dec. 2 at Georgia Tech.

Scheyer said Proctor is progressing well and it's possible he could return for Duke's next game Dec. 30 against Queens.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: With six players averaging at least 10 points per game, the balanced Bears were much more competitive than Saturday when they were blown out by unranked Michigan State in Detroit.

“Really proud of how our guys bounced back," Drew said. “We played a much tougher game.”

Duke: Playing for the first time in eight days following their exam break, the Blue Devils won their third straight overall following consecutive losses on the road. They improved to 41-18 at Madison Square Garden with their best win of the season.

“This has been a special place for us,” Scheyer said. “Especially to play right before Christmas, this kind of game — it's going to be hard to do it going forward, depending on the ACC schedule.”

UP NEXT

Baylor: Will host Mississippi Valley State on Friday night.

Duke: Will play Queens on Dec. 30 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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