Pitt holds off Duke, handing Blue Devils second loss in a row
Duke received a stellar performance from freshman Jalen Johnson in his first full game in a month, but Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie proved too much for the Blue Devils to handle.
Champagnie’s 31 points and 14 rebounds helped Pitt build a 15-point second-half lead and hold on for a 79-73 win after Johnson keyed a late Duke surge.
The Blue Devils’ second consecutive loss left their Hall of Fame coach, Mike Krzyzewski, hoping his team can put more good minutes together without the stretches of poor play that have left them out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2016.
“For us to figure out a team,” Krzyzewski said, “there has to be some level of consistency of performance by all the kids so you can define roles.”
Johnson, a preseason all-ACC pick, had only played four minutes over Duke’s last four games due to a foot injury. But having not started a game since Dec. 8, he scored 24 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, collected seven assists and blocked three shots before fouling out with 2:16 to play.
“Jalen had a magnificent game,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s just starting to be with us. If he came close to doing that every game, then that’s something that we can count on every game. Somebody who can create and manufacture shots.”
Johnson’s work helped Duke (5-4, 3-2 ACC), which had trailed 55-40 with 16:29 to play, cut the Pitt lead to 72-69 on his free throws with 3:06 left. But he fouled out less than a minute later.
With Johnson out, Duke pulled within two points twice late, the second time on a Matthew Hurt basket with 1:21 to play.
But Au’Diese Toney’s dunk with 54 seconds left put Pittsburgh up 77-73. Jeremy Roach missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left for Duke and Xavier Johnson hit two free throws with 23 seconds left giving the Panthers (8-2, 4-1 ACC) a 79-73 lead.
In addition to Champagnie, Pitt received a big effort from Toney, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Wendell Moore added 15 points for Duke, while Hurt scored 13 and Roach 11 for the Blue Devils. Duke shot 38.6%, making only 8 of 28 3-pointers (28.6%).
Pitt’s win, under head coach Jeff Capel, made the former Duke player and assistant coach the first of Krzyzewski’s former players who’ve become head coaches to beat the Blue Devils.
Here are the earlier updates from the game:
Panthers up behind Justin Champagnie
With Pittsburgh sophomore Justin Champagnie scoring 28 points, Pittsburgh led by as many as 15 points early in the second half.
Freshman Jalen Johnson brought the Blue Devils back with strong play on both ends of the court. The 6-9 forward scored 13 of his 19 points after halftime as Pittsburgh lead is down to 65-59 with 7:34 to play.
Late surge gives Pitt a nine-point halftime lead
Pitt scored 14 points in a row late in the first half and took a 43-34 lead at intermission.
Justin Champagnie dominated for the Panthers in the first half with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremy Roach scored 10 points and Wendell Moore eight for Duke.
The Blue Devils, down 8-0 early, battled back to take a 31-29 lead on Matthew Hurt’s 3-pointer with 3:52 to play in the half.
But Pitt scored the next 14 points as Duke missed six shots in a row while committing a pair of turnovers. The Blue Devils shot 13 of 35 (37.1%) while making only 5 of 18 3-pointers (27.8%) with seven turnovers.
Pitt holds small lead at under-8 timeout
Pittsburgh scored the game’s first eight points, causing Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to call a timeout less than two minutes into the game. The Blue Devils, with Jalen Johnson contributing off the bench, fought back to take a 1-point lead but the Panthers lead 24-21 with 7:33 to play.
Jeremy Roach has eight points and Johnson six to pace Duke, which started 9 of 21 from the field while making just 2 of 10 3-pointers.
Normally a man-to-man defensive team, Duke played 2-3 zone exclusively during the first half.
Jalen Johnson not in Duke starting lineup
After missing all of three games and most of another with a foot injury, freshman forward Jalen Johnson is available to play tonight when Duke (5-3, 3-1) ACC plays Pitt. But the 6-9 preseason all-ACC selection will come off the bench for the second game in a row.
Duke’s starting five includes senior guard Jordan Goldwire, sophomore forward Matthew Hurt and three freshmen: forward Jaemyn Brakefield and guards DJ Steward and Jeremy Roach.
Since his injury was announced on Dec. 15, Johnson was not in uniform for Duke’s wins over Notre Dame, Boston College and Wake Forest. He played four minutes off the bench in Duke’s 74-67 loss at Virginia Tech on Jan. 12.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday Johnson had been a full participant in the team’s practices all week and would be available for more minutes in the Pittsburgh game.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 8:50 PM.