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Hurricanes Upset No. 5 Duke 96-95

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[February 21, 2008]  CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Looking to bounce back from their first conference loss, the Duke Blue Devils instead stumbled again. The Miami Hurricanes beat fifth-ranked Duke for the first time in 45 years Wednesday, scoring 15 consecutive points to build a big lead early in the second half and holding on to win 96-95.

Ranked No. 2 just last week, the Blue Devils (22-3 overall, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost for the second time in four days.

Miami (18-7, 5-6) beat Duke for the first time since the first game in the series Dec. 21, 1962. The Blue Devils had won all 10 games since.

Miami made six of eight free throws in the final 41 seconds to preserve the upset. Duke's DeMarcus Nelson sank a layup with 2 seconds left to make the score 94-92, but Miami's Jack McClinton sank two clinching free throws before Nelson hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Senior Dwayne Collins scored a career-high 26 points and McClinton added 22 to help the Hurricanes win their third ACC game in a row. They beat a top-five team for the first time since a victory at No. 2 Connecticut on Feb. 20, 1999.

Sophomore Jon Scheyer scored a career-high 27 points for the Blue Devils, who nearly rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit.

The Blue Devils had a season-high turnover total for the second game in a row, losing the ball 23 times. They struggled shooting from the perimeter against Miami's zone, and when Duke tried to force the ball inside, the Hurricanes often tipped it away and repeatedly showed more hustle chasing loose balls.

Miami's Jimmy Graham leaped out of bounds to make one save, hitting a teammate with a pass that bounced between a Duke player's legs.

The Blue Devils also gave up a season-high point total for the second successive game. They missed seven shots and committed four turnovers during the drought, which left them trailing 59-39.

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Duke struggled from the start against Miami's zone, failing to score on eight consecutive possessions. The Blue Devils committed eight turnovers in the first 8 minutes, missed seven shots in a row and fell behind 17-11.

Duke twice tied the score later in the half, but the Hurricanes scored on their last four possessions, and Collins' reverse layup in the final seconds put them up 41-36 at halftime.

Collins sank a similar shot to start the second half, drew a foul and made the free throw for an eight-point lead. After Kyle Singler sank a 3-pointer for Duke, the Hurricanes made their 15-point run capped by McClinton's 3-pointer.

Miami maintained a double-digit lead until Scheyer made a 3-pointer to make the score 82-75 with 3:20 left.

Two free throws by Scheyer made it 90-86 with 1:29 to go, and Greg Paulus' layup with 19 seconds left cut the margin to 93-90. But McClinton and teammate Brian Asbury made three free throws each in the final 41 seconds.

Asbury scored 15 points and Lance Hurdle 13 for the Hurricanes, who shot 57 percent.

Nelson had 19 points and 10 rebounds but also six turnovers. Singler and Paulus had 12 each, and Lance Thomas scored 10 for Duke.

[Associated Press; By STEVEN WINE]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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