Grayson Allen Scores 30 Points In 79-71 No. 17 Duke Win Over Wake Forest

The Duke Blue Devils found themselves in a rare situation on Tuesday night: a tight game at home against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The 17th-ranked Blue Devils had the one player who always delivers against the Deacons.

Grayson Allen Scores 30 Points In 79-71 No. 17 Duke Win Over Wake Forest

Grayson Allen scored 30 points in Duke’s (22-8, 11-6) 79-71 victory over Wake Forest.

Allen was publicly reprimanded by the Atlantic Coast Conference for his second tripping incident in a month.

“Grayson, I think, got back to playing,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “At Pitt, you could tell, he wasn’t. All that affects you. … He got out of it.”

Marshall Plumlee added 13 points for Duke and matched a career high with 17 rebounds, while freshman Brandon Ingram ended up with 15 points and 11 rebounds. This marked their 17th straight home win over Wake Forest.

Devin Thomas had 16 points and 13 rebounds and freshman Bryant Crawford scored 15 points for the Demon Deacons (11-19, 2-16).

This was Allen’s third consecutive game against Wake Forest with at least 24 points. He scored 27 against them last month in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“We’re in March now,” Allen said. “You have to find your energy for March. There’s no excuse for us to be tired or anything like. We’re kids in college, and it’s March.”

The Demon Deacons lost each of their last 16 in Durham by double figures, and the last five by at least 18 points. They have lost 14 of their last 15 games this season, the lone victory against the Boston College Eagles, who are winless in the ACC.

The beginning of the second half was tight, with a margin that never exceeded three points either way during the first 11 minutes. Chase Jeter hit a foul shot with 1:26 left to put Duke back up by six. Jeter missed his second attempt and Thomas grabbed the rebound but immediately threw it away to Ingram. Allen then sank two free throws to extend the lead to 73-65 with 1:14 left.

Duke converted Wake Forest’s 18 turnovers into 19 points. Wake Forest plays in the first round of the ACC Tournament on March 8 in Washington. Duke will host No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday night.

LOUISVILLE, KY – FEBRUARY 20:  Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils dribbles the ball during the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on February 20, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena