This article is written by Aaron Beard for the Associated Press.

On Monday evening, Duke’s Mark Mitchell scored 23 points and Kyle Filipowski, their key player, achieved his first double-double in nearly three weeks. This helped No.9 Duke beat Wake Forest with a score of 77-69.

Filipowski scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3 ACC). Despite the Demon Deacons (16-8, 8-5) making multiple attempts to catch up in the second half, the Blue Devils maintained their lead and held off their opponents until the end.

During Tim Duncan’s final year at Wake Forest, the team was determined to secure their first victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium since January 1997. Despite several opportunities to narrow the score in the second half, Damari Monsanto missed two consecutive 3-pointers, the second one coming after his team had rebounded his initial miss.

Shortly thereafter, Mitchell made a free throw to increase the lead to 75-69. Monsanto attempted another 3-pointer from the top, but missed. Mitchell grabbed the rebound and quickly advanced the ball for a decisive dunk, solidifying the final score.

Hunter Sallis netted 22 points for the Demon Deacons, despite a rough shooting beginning and Efton Reid III facing restricted playing time due to foul issues.

BIG PICTURE

According to the rankings, Wake Forest is currently performing well (at No. 28 in KenPom and No. 35 in the NET). However, they still need to put in more effort to prove themselves worthy of an NCAA Tournament spot. So far, they have not been successful in their three Quadrant 1 games and their strongest nonconference win was against Florida. They have five more Q1 games left, one of which is against Duke on February 24th.

Duke’s basketball team, the Blue Devils, had won against Notre Dame and Boston College after their loss to rival team North Carolina. Filipowski had a positive improvement in performance after some disappointing games, achieving his first double-double since scoring 17 points and grabbing 15 rebounds against Louisville on January 23rd. Mitchell has continued to showcase strong play since the beginning of the year 2024.

UP NEXT

Wake Forest’s football team, the Demon Deacons, will be traveling to face off against the No. 21 ranked Virginia team this Saturday.

Duke’s basketball team, the Blue Devils, will be traveling to Florida State this Saturday.

Source: wralsportsfan.com