NEW YORK (AP) — Grayson Allen scored a career-high 32 points, and No. 5 Duke beat Georgetown 86-84 in the 2K Classic championship on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Derryck Thornton had 14 points and Matt Jones scored 11 for the Blue Devils (4-1), who trailed by five at halftime.
Allen bounced back nicely from a shoddy performance in a loss to Kentucky on Tuesday. The sophomore came off the bench and set a career high with 30 points in Friday night’s win over VCU and then returned to the starting lineup against the Hoyas and went 9 for 12 from the field in his fourth game with at least 25 points.
Isaac Copeland scored 21 points for Georgetown (1-3), but was scoreless in the second half until hitting two late 3-pointers. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and freshman Kaleb Johnson added 14 points apiece.
L.J. Peak’s dunk with 17:10 left gave the Hoyas a 54-53 lead, but the Blue Devils responded with a 10-0 run. Allen got the surge started with three free throws, and Amile Jefferson finished it off with a layup off a pass from Jones.
Georgetown made a couple more charges at Duke, but the Blue Devils held on. Allen finished off a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer that made it 77-69 with 2:46 left.
The Hoyas closed to 86-84 on a 3-pointer by Copeland with 7 seconds left. After Thornton missed two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining, Copeland’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was short.
Before Duke rallied, Georgetown held the lead for most of the first half. Johnson’s buzzer-beating 3 from near midcourt made it 47-42 at the break.
TIP-INS
Georgetown: Before hitting two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half, including the late heave from midcourt, Johnson had not attempted a 3-pointer in his brief college career. … Georgetown’s only other meeting with Duke on a neutral site was at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the 1989 East Regional final during Alonzo Mourning’s freshman season.
Duke: The Blue Devils also won this event in 2008 when they beat Michigan State by 15 and Kyle Singler was named MVP. … Duke is 9-0 when Allen scores in double figures.
UP NEXT
Georgetown hosts Bryant on Saturday.
Duke hosts Yale on Wednesday.
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