Duke Blue Devils at Louisville Cardinals

Tyrese Proctor's career-high 24 points help No. 12 Duke bounce back and beat Louisville 83-69

Seeking a rebound from an 80-76 home loss to Pitt, the Blue Devils (14-4, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) got a big lift with the returns of Mitchell and Jeremy Roach (10 points) from knee injuries to race to a 38-20 lead early on and 45-34 at halftime. They still had to work to stay ahead of the stubborn Cardinals, and Proctor came up big when they needed him, delivering a critical step-back 3-pointer with 7:08 remaining to make it 68-60.

Mitchell added a layup for a brief 10-point cushion that Jared McCain helped maintain with another 3 with 2:54 left for a 77-65 lead as Duke won the first of two season meetings with Louisville.

“We started trading baskets early and then we really locked in and got stops when we needed to," Proctor said, "and then we took advantage of it and started scoring.”

Proctor made 4 of 10 from deep and 9 of 16 overall to top his previous best of 22 against La Salle in November. Mitchell made 8 of 11 from the field for his second double-double in his last three games, while Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and matched a career high with 15 rebounds. It marked his seventh double-double this season and 23rd career.

“I feel good," Mitchell said. "I didn’t even really know I was going to play until yesterday.”

Added Duke coach Jon Scheyer, “I thought it was a really good game for us. Really good to get that win. For our team, we’ve played through a pretty good amount of adversity these last three games. ... For us to really step up, collectively, and get that win, I’m proud of the team."

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals (6-13, 1-7), who dropped their fourth consecutive game. Louisville and Duke each shot 46% but the Cardinals were outrebounded 23-15 after halftime and 43-28 overall.

Mike James and Skyy Clark each added 13 points while Ty-Laur Johnson had 10 for Louisville, which played its fourth consecutive game against a team ranked among the top five in the ACC.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: Coming off a third loss of four in which they were outrebounded, the Blue Devils asserted themselves on the glass on both ends and got a 21-11 advantage in second-chance points and 34-30 edge in paint points as a result. Proctor's perimeter shooting keyed a 9-of-25 finish (36%) for the ACC's third best shooting team from behind the arc.

Louisville: The Cardinals made it interesting despite trailing by 18 early but hurt themselves at the foul line (16 of 24) and allowing 14 points off 10 turnovers. They made just 5 of 15 from long range while their bench was outscored 26-10.

“I think our first half we’d be digging ourselves a hole and that’s been kind of a common theme throughout the year," Clark said. "We just (need to) put together two 20-minute halves where we compete and play hard on defense and playing together offensively and that’s how we’ll come up with those wins.”

UP NEXT

Duke hosts Clemson on Saturday in the lone season meeting between the schools.

Louisville hosts Virginia on Saturday, looking to avenge a 77-53 loss to the Cavaliers on Jan. 3 and halt an eight-game series losing streak.

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• TV Channel: Duke at Louisville 2021 College Basketball, week 12, is broadcasted on ACC Network.
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