DURHAM, N.C. ? David McClure has earned his minutes by grabbing rebounds, getting steals and bringing energy off the bench while his Duke teammates grab most of the headlines.
On Thursday night, McClure made the most of his chance to take the big shot.
The sophomore hit a layup as time expired to lead the No. 10 Blue Devils past No. 19 Clemson, 68-66, extending Duke’s mastery of the Tigers while keeping it moving forward in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
In a game with the wildest of finishes – including a blown five-point lead in the final 13 seconds and a dose of clock controversy before the final play – McClure’s stunning basket helped the Blue Devils (17-3, 4-2 ACC) win their fourth straight. Duke has also won 20 straight meetings in the series – a span of 10 years – and 24 of 26 meetings in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This one came thanks to an unflashy 6-foot-6 forward who finished with a modest stat line off the bench.
As Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski put it, “He makes simple, terrific plays.”
“You never know what’s going to happen,” McClure said. “If you’re in every play, you’re going to be ready to make a play.”
With the score tied at 66 with 4.4 seconds left, Josh McRoberts inbounded the ball to freshman Jon Scheyer, who pushed the ball near midcourt and sent a pass ahead to McClure.
McClure, who had a step on Vernon Hamilton, caught the pass and laid it up over the outstretched arms of K.C. Rivers as the horn sounded.
“It was a great finish and a great way to win,” said Scheyer, who had 12 points. “That’s about as crazy as it gets.”
Duke’s players immediately spilled onto the floor in celebration and mobbed McClure.
“I’ve been on teams where we’ve hit shots like that, but I’ve never been the one to hit it,” McClure said. “You can’t even explain how it feels. I just started jumping around and about a second later I got hit by the rest of the team and we all went down.”
No. 3 UCLA 62, California 46
Berkeley, Calif. – Arron Afflalo scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and made all nine of his free throws, leading UCLA past California. Josh Shipp added 12 points and threw a pretty behind-the-back bounce pass to Afflalo for a late basket, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute grabbed 11 rebounds in the Bruins’ fourth straight win since a 68-66 loss at Oregon on Jan. 6 – the team’s lone defeat so far.
Washington 89, No. 7 Oregon 77
Seattle – Justin Dentmon, benched for the last month for erratic play, scored 24 points and had seven assists to lead Washington over Oregon.
Ryan Appleby had 16 points and Spencer Hawes added 15 on a bad ankle as the Huskies (12-7, 2-6 Pac-10) overcame Dentmon’s six turnovers. Washington has won eight of its last nine home games against ranked teams.
Bryce Taylor scored 19 points to lead Oregon (18-2, 6-2), which was playing without the suspended Aaron Brooks, the Pac-10’s scoring leader.
No. 14 Butler 70, Loyola of Chicago 66, OT
Chicago – A. J. Graves hit three three-pointers in overtime, including the go-ahead basket with 55.2 seconds to play, and Butler beat Loyola of Chicago for its eighth win in nine games.
Graves scored 26 points to lead the Bulldogs (18-2, 6-1 Horizon League), and Pete Campbell added 12 – including 11 in the first half.
No. 18 Nevada 84, Louisiana Tech 67
Reno, Nev. – Ramon Sessions had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help Nevada beat Louisiana Tech and hold onto a share of the lead of the Western Athletic Conference.
Nick Fazekas added 13 points and Marcelus Kemp 12 for the Wolf Pack (18-2, 6-1), who trailed by as much as eight early but scored the last four points of the first half to tie it 37-37 and opened the second half with a 10-0 run.
Chad McKenzie had 19 points and Trey McDowell 17 for Louisiana Tech (6-13, 4-3 WAC).
No. 20 Washington State 70, Oregon State 55
Pullman, Wash. – Robbie Cowgill had a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Washington State in the Cougars’ first home game as a ranked team in 57 years. Kyle Weaver scored 12 points and Ivory Clark added 11 for Washington State (17-3, 6-2 Pac-10).
Sasa Cuic had 17 points and Marcel Jones added 14 for Oregon State (9-12, 1-7), which shot 6-for-19 on free throws and 37 percent from the floor.
Stanford 65, No. 25 Southern California 50
Stanford, Calif. – Brook Lopez blocked a school-record 12 shots to go along with 18 points and 11 rebounds, helping Stanford spoil No. 25 Southern California’s first game as a ranked team in five years.
Lopez dominated the inside for the Cardinal (13-5, 5-3 Pac-10) and overwhelmed the Trojans, scoring six points and blocking three shots during a 12-0 run that put the Cardinal up 22 midway through the second half.