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DUKE MOUNTS EPIC COMEBACK
Photos by Simran Prakash | Asst. Sports Photography Editor. Graphic by Charles York | Photography Editor
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Tre Jones leads Blue Devils to wild finish Dean Sue stops illegal By Michael Model Associate Sports Editor
CHAPEL HILL—Eight years ago Austin Rivers etched his name in the Duke-North Carolina history books with a gamewinner as time expired. Saturday, Tre Jones and Wendell Moore Jr. took their place right alongside him. Trailing by three with four seconds left in regulation, Jones stepped to the free throw line. The sophomore captain calmly made the first, then purposefully bricked the second. The ball kicked out to Matthew Hurt on the perimeter, who passed the ball to Jones. Jones patiently dribbled forward, fought through ferocious defense from Cole Anthony to get a midrange jumper off with less than half a second on the clock. The arena fell silent as the ball went through the net, forcing overtime. “With Duke being my dream school since I can remember, I’m always watching these rivalry games,” Jones said. “Seeing Austin Rivers hit a shot here when I was at one of my basketball tournaments, going crazy, watching my brother do what he did against Carolina. I just wanted to put my name in the game like that. And I feel like I might have done that tonight.” “He made—not a good play—that was an amazing play. That’s one of those clinic videos,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski added. “We won because of that kid.” Trailing by five with 20 seconds remaining in overtime, Duke staged another dramatic comeback. Jones converted a lay-up after a foul, but the rebound was tipped out of bounds off North Carolina. Moore would score on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to one. The Tar Heels botched the inbounds pass to set up an opportunity for the Blue Devils to go for the win with 10.7 ticks on the clock. Jones promptly drove to the dish and got to the line. Swish, tie game. The Apple Valley, Minn., native missed the second, but would get another chance on the offensive rebound. Jones
missed the midrange pull-up, but Moore was right there to lay it in for the game-winner as time expired. The Blue Devils escaped the Dean E. Smith Center with a 98-96 victory. “I missed that and Wendell pursued it,” Jones said. “They got that big guy down low and he was able to go up and tip it out. Jordan Goldwire pursued the ball as it was going out of bounds and saved it to me. I put up a look and Wendell again went after it, something that he was doing all game and he was able to get that huge putback.” Jones led his team with 28 points, while Anthony fed off the energy of the crowd and led North Carolina with 24 points of his own. With a 13-point advantage and four minutes remaining in regulation, North Carolina fans flocked to the exits confident in a Tar Heel win. But the Blue Devils went to work on a comeback for the ages. Triples by Joey Baker and Alex O’Connell along with missed free throws at the other end gave Duke the opportunity to cut the lead down to 8179 with 40 seconds remaining. Trailing by two with 15 seconds left, Jo n e s and Jordan Goldwire forced a steal as Duke had an opportunity to tie. Cassius Stanley got the ball under the basket and pump-faked, but the Tar Heel defense swatted it away. Andrew Platek would go 1-for-2 at the line for North Carolina to set up Jones’ classic moment. “I didn’t think it was gonna take that, but like I said I knew what it’d take. Almost dead in the water there in regulation and overtime,” Jones said. “Everyone on the team had the same look in their eyes, same look on their face. The coaches had the same thing going as well. We all believed in each other. We all believed every second of the game that we were going to come out with a win.” Anyone who watched the two teams for the first time would be stunned to learn the Tar Heels entered the contest with losses in 11 of their last 15 games. North Carolina overwhelmed Duke (20-3, 10-2 in the ACC) with exquisite ball movement, domination on the interior and near-perfect accuracy from the midrange for the first 35 minutes of the contest. The Tar Heels (10-13, 3-9) feasted off open attempts from the midrange en route to an astonishing 59.4 percent first-half conversion rate and a nine-point halftime lead. The See WILD on Page 8
bench burning effort By Nathan Luzum Managing Editor
After a win for the ages against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students were fired up to burn benches. There was only one problem—Duke didn’t have a permit. Students dragged the bench for Sherwood House onto the quad, but Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek planted herself atop the bench for around 45 minutes to prevent students from lighting it on fire. As students chanted at Wasiolek, others attempted to give her a handle of vodka and White Claws, which she declined to drink. Some students also approached the bench with lighters and a small blowtorch, but did not set it aflame. Eventually, when they realized a bonfire wasn’t in the cards, students began filing over to Cameron Indoor Stadium to welcome the team back. “I have great appreciation for the school spirit, and I love to encourage that in any way I can,” Wasiolek told The Chronicle after stepping down from the bench. “But I just felt it was very important not to burn that bench. I really want to preserve the opportunities in the future to be able to burn with a permit. If we do it illegally now, we’re not going to get a permit in the future.” Bench-burning permits are granted for only four games out of the year, she explained. The University has permits for both the men’s and women’s home basketball games against UNC, in addition to the men’s and women’s National Championship game—but none for an away game in Chapel Hill. “What I didn’t want to have happen is any students get in trouble by burning the bench,” she said. “It’s not a matter of whether we could have controlled it and tried as best we could to make it safe, but it’s illegal. It’s against the law. I’m not sure students understand that. I don’t mean that in a condescending way, but the law is very clear.” Wasiolek knew that she might have to intercede even before the Sherwood bench was dragged into the quad following the Blue Devil win. Students have reacted this way to close victories in the past, she said, noting that this was the third time in her career pacifying a group of students See BURNING on Page 4