No.1 Duke goes down

Boston college beat No.1 ranked Duke last night with 89-84. Ky Bowman scored 30 points, adding 10 rebounds and nine assists to help Boston College (7-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) win its third straight game. Jordan Chatman scored 22, hitting four straight free throws in the final 16 seconds to ice it. Gary Trent Jr. scored 25 and Marvin Bagley III had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (11-1, 0-1 ACC).

Duke erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and led 79-75 with 3:30 to play. Boston College scored 12 of the next 14 points, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Robinson. Duke’s Trevon Duvall drove to the basket to make it 83-81 with 31 seconds left, but then he was called for an intentional foul on Chatman as Boston College tried to dribble out the clock.

Chatman made both foul shots, and then with Boston College retaining possession he was fouled again and made two more. A 3-pointer by Trent made it 87-84, but then Jerome Robinson was sent to the line and hit his free throws with 6 seconds left to ice it.

The hero of the night, Ky Bowman, is a North Carolina native. He was passed over by the Tobacco Road juggernauts – and every ACC member south of Massachusetts – so games like this give him the proverbial chip-on-the-shoulder. But this game isn’t simply explained by a kid being mad that a one-and-done factory didn’t want him. Bowman, and his backcourt partner Jerome Robinson, can outplay any pair of guards on a given night, and Saturday was another example of that.