PORTLAND, Ore. — Kyle Filipowski had 19 points and 14 rebounds as No. 8 Duke held off a challenge from Oregon State and pulled out a 54-51 win in the opening game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament on Thursday.
Ryan Young added 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and was the only other Blue Devils (5-1) player to score in double figures.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers (3-2) with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dexter Akanno hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 points.
“Some big-time winning plays,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “You have to find a way to gut it out. I’m proud of figuring out a way to win.”
Duke took a 29-27 lead into halftime as the teams traded big 3-pointers with less than a minute to go in the period. Akanno hit one with 46 seconds remaining to give the Beavers a one-point lead and drew a foul on Filipowski but failed to convert the four-point play. Duke’s Jeremy Roach knocked down a 3 at the other end with 15 seconds left, giving the Blue Devils a two-point lead at the break.
Oregon State opened the second half on 6-0 run to take a four-point lead. The Beavers led much of the second half before Duke used a 10-2 run, punctuated by a basket by Filipowski that tied the game at 45 with eight minutes remaining.
“He’s a big-time competitor,” Scheyer said of Filipowski. “He hasn’t gotten off to the best starts, but when the game’s on the line, he’s not afraid. The three of course was big to tie it, but those three offensive rebounds he had were big-time.”
A basket by Roach gave the Blue Devils the lead and Duke never trailed again.
Oregon State had two looks at 3-pointers that would have tied the game on its final possession but failed to convert before the buzzer sounded.
“I’m proud of our guys, it was a hell of an effort,” Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle said. “Obviously, we’re very disappointed we didn’t come out with a win. This young group, we challenged them. We told them it was going to be a fight and they were willing to accept it and, I thought, battled their tails off.”
Duke outrebounded Oregon State 43-28 and forced 11 turnovers.
Oregon State’s shooting kept them in it until the end. The Beavers shot 40.5% from the field and 30% from 3-point range.
The Blue Devils will face Xavier in a PKL semifinal on Friday.
