CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Elijah Olaniyi scored 21 points, Anthony Walker and Isaiah Wong added 16 points apiece and short-handed Miami overcame shaky foul shooting down the stretch to defeat Duke 77-75 on Monday, ending a four-game losing streak.
The Hurricanes, whose previous three games with the Blue Devils were losses by at least 30 points, made this one difficult by missing 4 of 8 free throws, including the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities, in the final 75 seconds.
But Walker made a pair with 12.8 seconds to go that proved to be the difference. He made it 77-73 before a tip-in by Duke forward Wendell Moore Jr. at 4.9 seconds.
Wong missed his front end with 4.3 seconds remaining but Duke capped its frustrating night by not being able to get up a final shot.
With just six scholarship players available, Miami (7-10, 3-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost four-straight games without reaching 60 points in any of them. Wong was questionable after spraining an ankle on Saturday.
But Wong appeared fine and the Hurricanes didn’t have any problem getting the ball inside, shooting 52.5%, including 17 of 28 (60.7%) in the second half. When Duke went to a 3-2 zone, one of the worst Division I 3-point shooting teams (28.4%) made 7 of 15 behind the arc, led by Olaniyi’s 3-for-5 shooting.
Matthew Hurt led the Blue Devils (7-6, 5-4) with 21 points. Moore added 18 points, DJ Steward scored 14 and Jalen Johnson 13. Duke was just 5 of 18 (27.8%) from distance and shot 46% overall, 44% in the second half.
There were 20 lead changes and the big lead for both teams was six points. Duke led 35-33 at the half.
The next game for both teams is on Saturday. Duke faces North Carolina when both are unranked for the first time since the 1959-60 season. Miami plays No. 16 Virginia Tech.
Western Carolina 76, The Citadel 75
CULLOWHEE — Mason Faulkner scored 21 points, including a runner in the lane with 5.5 seconds left, as Western Carolina beat The Citadel 76-75 on Monday to snap its seven-game losing streak.
After Faulkner’s go-ahead basket, Hayden Brown dribbled down the court to get into the lane but his shot was blocked by Xavier Cork at the buzzer.
Cory Hightower had 16 points for Western Carolina (8-9, 1-7 Southern Conference). Ahmir Langlais added 14 points, and Cork had 10 rebounds and three blocks. Matt Halvorsen, who was second on the Catamounts in scoring coming into the contest with 14 points per game, had only four points.
Kaiden Rice scored 17 points for the Bulldogs (9-6, 2-6). Brown had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Fletcher Abee added 16 points.
North Carolina Central 91, South Carolina State 77
DURHAM — Deven Palmer and Jamir Moultrie came off the bench to score a combined 32 points, leading five players in double figures as North Carolina Central won its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener with a 91-77 victory over winless South Carolina State.
Palmer had 17 points in 20 minutes, making 5 of 7 3-pointers, and Moultrie added 15 points in 17 minutes for the Eagles (3-3, 1-0 MEAC). Justin Whatley had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Nicolas Fennell (13) and C.J. Keyser (12) also scored in double digits. Jordan Perkins had nine assists.
Omar Croskey led the Bulldogs (0-14, 0-4 MEAC) with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
