ATLANTA — Sitting in the quiet of the Duke locker room Saturday afternoon, absorbing the sting of a 71-67 loss to Georgia Tech in Alexander Coliseum, Duke guard Jon Scheyer was quietly taking inventory of the day.
Scheyer didn't need a stat sheet to explain how the 20th-ranked Yellow Jackets, five days removed from a loss to rival Georgia, had ended the fifth-ranked Blue Devils' seven-game winning streak.
The stat sheet told the story of Duke's 6-for-28 shooting from 3-point range, Georgia Tech's 26-12 rebounding advantage in the second half and Kyle Singler's off-kilter nine-point, four-turnover day.
Scheyer, however, cut to the heart of the matter while staring at the floor.
"They were better than us," said Scheyer, who had 25 points and six assists but not enough help.
"We didn't do what we needed to do. They did."
In a game there for either team to win with five minutes remaining, Georgia Tech horse-collared the victory. Bullish on the boards behind Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors and Zach Peacock and steady from the foul line over the closing seconds, the Yellow Jackets emerged with a victory that managed to alter the ACC landscape in the first full weekend of conference play.
It was only the second true road game Duke (13-2, 1-1) has played this season, and both have resulted in losses (the first coming at Wisconsin in early December). That may be more semantic than serious considering the Blue Devils beat Connecticut and Gonzaga in New York and Iowa State in Chicago.
"You don't want to make it a trend," Scheyer said. "It's disappointing because we really wanted to come out on the road and win because the only one we'd played so far, we'd lost. We need to send a message we can win on the road."
If a message came out of Saturday's game, it was sent by Georgia Tech (12-3, 1-1). Despite one of the tallest lineups in the country, Duke had trouble dealing with the Yellow Jackets' size and strength inside. Forward Lance Thomas fouled out in 14 minutes, and as the game wore on, the Yellow Jackets became the more assertive team.
It was Duke's third game in six days, but without consistent scoring the Blue Devils put extra pressure on themselves at the defensive end and on the boards.
"I thought overall we defended fairly well," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "The big thing was that once the ball went up on the glass, they got more [rebounds] than we got."
The Blue Devils led 35-29 at halftime despite making only two of 13 3-point shots. They outrebounded Georgia Tech by seven on the offensive boards in the first 20 minutes, but the advantage flipped in the second half.
Lawal, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, tormented the Blue Devils. In a two-minute stretch midway through the second half, Lawal scored six straight points as the Yellow Jackets turned a one-point deficit into a five-point lead.
He hurt Duke again with one minute to play, scoring inside to give the Yellow Jackets a four-point lead, forcing Duke to foul. Georgia Tech made seven of eight from the line in the final 32 seconds.
"The main thing is Georgia Tech played a more physical game," said Singler, who made just two of 13 shots. "They did a good job doing the dirty work."
Still, the Blue Devils were left to think about all the shots they missed from the perimeter. They came in shooting 42 percent from behind the arc, but it bottomed out Saturday.
"We didn't play as well as we'd like, but Georgia Tech had the most to do with that," Krzyzewski said. "We came ready to play, and they beat us."
Georgia Tech 71, Duke 67
DUKE | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Singler | 38 | 2-13 | 3-4 | 1-5 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
Mi. Plumlee | 19 | 4-4 | 0-2 | 2-5 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
Thomas | 14 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Smith | 33 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
Scheyer | 39 | 8-19 | 6-7 | 0-2 | 6 | 0 | 25 |
Ma. Plumlee | 26 | 5-6 | 0-1 | 2-6 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
Dawkins | 9 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Kelly | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Zoubek | 20 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Totals | 200 | 26-60 | 9-14 | 11-32 | 15 | 24 | 67 |
Percentages: FG .433, FT .643. 3-point goals: 6-28, .214 (Scheyer 3-13, Singler 2-8, Smith 1-4, Kelly 0-1, Dawkins 0-2). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 5 (Ma. Plumlee 2, Smith, Zoubek, Singler). Turnovers: 12 (Singler 4, Zoubek 2, Ma. Plumlee 2, Scheyer, Smith, Thomas). Steals: 4 (Mi. Plumlee 2, Dawkins, Ma. Plumlee). Technical fouls: none.
GA TECH | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Favors | 29 | 2-6 | 3-4 | 2-8 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
Lawal | 23 | 8-9 | 5-6 | 4-9 | 0 | 3 | 21 |
Udofia | 34 | 3-8 | 4-6 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
Shumpert | 34 | 1-9 | 5-6 | 2-5 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
Bell | 20 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Foreman | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Oliver | 22 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
Peacock | 24 | 3-11 | 5-6 | 2-4 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
Rice Jr | 9 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Totals | 200 | 22-53 | 22-28 | 13-38 | 7 | 17 | 71 |
Percentages: FG .415, FT .786. 3-point goals: 5-14, .357 (Udofia 3-6, Oliver 1-2, Shumpert 1-3, Bell 0-1, Peacock 0-2). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 2 (Shumpert 2). Turnovers: 15 (Shumpert 7, Favors 4, Oliver 2, Udofia, Peacock). Steals: 6 (Peacock 2, Shumpert 2, Oliver, Rice Jr.). Technical fouls: none.
Duke | 35 | 32 | - | 67 |
Georgia Tech | 29 | 42 | - | 71 |
Att.-9,191. Officials-Les Jones, Bryan Kersey, Brian Dorsey.
rgreenjr@charlotteobserver.com or 704-358-5118
