Duke clinches share of ACC title

And undefeated home season, as Wake Forest falls 93-60

I’m not often at a loss for words. But I had to go to my on-line thesarus to find some synonyms for “dominant.” I have to come up with something different.

I’m told I can use “superior,” “preeminent,” “unsurpassed,” “unmatched,”“overmastering,” and a whole bunch more.

So, Duke clinched no worse than a share of the ACC’s regular-season title Monday night by overmastering Wake Forest 93-60.

The win also finished an undefeated home season.

The narrative was that the Deacs would come into Cameron desperate for the highest-profile win imaginable in order to climb back into the NCAA Tournament mix against a team they led deep into the second half in Winston-Salem.

It was Senior Day at Cameron, not the kind we grew up with to be sure. Those might be gone forever. Two we-hardly-knew-you transfers Sion James and Mason Gillis and walk-ons Neal Begovich and Stanley Borden said their farewells.

Meanwhile Tyrese Proctor was saying his hellos, back after missing a game-and-a-half with a bruised knee, his return a welcome gift for a team that maybe doesn’t need any.

It took Duke awhile to hit its stride. The Blue Devils missed their first five shots and didn’t score for almost the first four minutes.

But the Deacs weren’t any better and only led 2-0, 4-2 and 6-5.

“When we weren’t making shots, we defended,” Jon Scheyer said.

Once Duke found their rhythm it was all over. Cooper Flagg gave Duke an 8-6 lead with a triple, Isaiah Evans came off the bench for five quick points and Duke held Wake Forest without a field goal for over seven minutes.

Flagg had 10 points at intermission, with Duke up 40-27.

You probably recall Wake Forest opening the second half in Winston-Salem on a 17-1 run and they did score the five points of the second half.

But Duke wasn’t having any of this in their final game in Durham. Flagg scored seven points in three consecutive possessions. Kon Knueppel hit three foul shots, then Flagg from beyond the arc and it was 53-38 and the rout was on.

The lead reached 40 at 91-51 before a flurry of late Deacons points against Duke’s walk-ons cut the margin from blow-outy to slighty less blow-outy.

Flagg had one of those stat-stuffer games, 28 points, eight points, seven assists, two steals, three blocks. Knueppel added 17 points, Proctor 12, Sion James 11, Mason Gillis 11, Khaman Maluach 14 rebounds. Evans ended with eight points.

Duke held Wake star Hunter Sallis to nine points, outrebounded Wake 45-33, had 19 assists to 10 turnovers.

And no, I do not know why Caleb Foster didn’t play.

“This game meant a lot to us,” Scheyer summed up, citing the seniors on the floor and the seniors in the stands and the senior managers.

“It’s not normal what these guys are doing,” Scheyer added. “We don’t take it lightly, we don’t take it for granted. We know the job’s not done. This doesn’t entitle you to any more wins the rest of the season. For us, it’s full steam ahead.”