Duke outlasts Florida State as ACC tournament rolls on in Uptown
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The Duke Blue Devils fought off the Florida State Seminoles Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in the quarterfinals of the ACC men’s basketball tournament.
North Mecklenburg High School alum Isaiah Evans led Duke with 32 points in the team’s 80-79 win.
Duke survives a dogfight to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinal 80-79 over FSU.
— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) March 13, 2026
North Meck’s own Isaiah Evans finished with a game-high 32 points.
He described the win as “bittersweet,” down two starters to injury. @wsoctvpic.twitter.com/0gtaWoc0hI
The Seminoles had a chance at an upset after Chauncey Wiggins blocked Boozer with seven seconds left, but Robert McCray V’s 3 at the buzzer rimmed out.
Maliq Brown came up with two huge defensive plays to turn the momentum of the game for Duke, had a 19-2 run in the second half after trailing by eight with 13 minutes left. Brown had 12 rebounds.
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The Blue Devils (30-2) outrebounded Florida State 46-25 but needed to overcome 28 points from Lajae Jones and 25 from McCray for their ninth straight win. The Seminoles were 11 of 28 on 3s.
Evans had 28 points against the Seminoles in Duke’s 91-87 victory in January. He was 11 of 20 from the field on Thursday night and 7 of 16 from beyond the arc.
“It’s bittersweet,” Evans said. “I know that we can play a lot better; being down at the start isn’t really an excuse.”
Duke played without starting point guard Caleb Foster, who is out indefinitely with a broken right foot, and starting big man Patrick Ngongba II, who is sitting out this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament while dealing with his own foot issue.
Florida State led 35-34 at halftime and carried the momentum into the second half, building a 59-51 lead seven minutes in behind 10 quick points from McCray.
But Boozer scored on an offensive rebound and then drilled a 3 from the top of the key on consecutive possessions to ignite a 19-2 run. Brown, the ACC’s defensive player of the year and sixth man of the year, had two steals during the run leading to Duke lay-ups.
But Florida battled back to cut the lead to 80-79 behind Jones before McCray’s miss at the buzzer.
Virginia beat North Carolina State to kick off the day, and Miami beat Louisville in the last game of the afternoon slate.
Duke will face the winner of Clemson and North Carolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(WATCH BELOW: Spectrum Center hosts ACC men’s basketball tournament)