Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Duke 75, Florida State 70
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Officials: # Doug Shows, # Bert Smith, # William Covington Jr.
Attendance: 9314

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke celebrated Senior Night and welcomed a key contribution from a freshman Tuesday night.

Freshman guard Frank Jackson took over for a stretch as No. 13 Duke blitzed No. 15 Florida State 75-70 to win its home finale Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"Our program is about veterans," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You have to learn the culture from somebody. It's the older kids (who teach that)."

Jackson set a season high with 22 points to go with Luke Kennard's 17 points, Jayson Tatum's 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks, and Amile Jefferson's 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for Duke (23-7, 11-6 ACC).

"I had one chance to leave it all out there and that was exactly what I was going to do," said Jefferson, a fifth-year senior who secured his first double-double since mid-December. "It wasn't a sad thing for me. It was a 'let's win this thing' for me."

The outcome eliminated Florida State (23-7, 11-6) from contention for a share of the regular-season ACC title.

"Guys were playing so hard for both teams, that's why you have more turnovers than assists for both teams," Krzyzewski said, referring to 26 total turnovers and 15 total assists.

Dwayne Bacon scored 19 points and Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 15 points for the Seminoles, who closed a 19-point deficit to 64-56 with 6:25 to play on Bacon's 3-pointer. Kennard countered with a 3 as the shot clock wound down.

Florida State posted only one point on its next three possessions, but another Bacon jumper made it 69-61 before the Blue Devils closed it out.

"Every time we got right there, they knocked down a big shot," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Jackson hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored off a drive in the opening three minutes of the second half. He racked up 13 second-half points in less than 4 1/2 minutes as the Blue Devils' edge grew to 49-30.

"Frank was sensational," Krzyzewski said. "Frank is unbelievably competitive and tough.

Jonathan Isaac, the second-leading scorer for the Seminoles, had only one second-half point and ended up with eight points.

The teams struggled on offense for most of the first half. Duke scored on 11 of 12 possessions, including Kennard's banked-in 3-pointer for a 34-19 lead, before the Seminoles scored the last two baskets of the first half to close within 34-23.

Florida State committed 10 first-half turnovers after not exceeding that total in any of their last five full games. The Seminoles finished with 12 turnovers.

"Duke took us out of what we wanted to do offensively," Hamilton said, noting that he went to a smaller lineup in the second half to try to create more offense.

After missing Saturday's loss at Miami with an ankle injury, guard Grayson Allen was Duke's first substitute of the game. He scored two points while attempting only three shots in 16 minutes of playing time.

Duke avoided what would have been the team's first three-game losing streak of the season.

NOTES: The Seminoles are 6-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season. ... Duke seniors Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones and Nick Pagliuca were honored in a pregame Senior Night ceremony. ... Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski missed the team's Jan. 10 loss at Florida State as he was less than a week removed from back surgery. ... Florida State has one more chance to become the program's third team to reach the 12-win mark in ACC play. The Seminoles finish the regular season Saturday at home against Miami. ... Duke goes to No. 5 North Carolina on Saturday night looking for a season sweep of its rival.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida State   Duke
Dwayne Bacon 19 Scoring Frank Jackson 22
Dwayne Bacon 3 Assists Jayson Tatum 4
Trent Forrest 9 Rebounds Amile Jefferson 11
Dwayne Bacon 5 Free Throws Made Luke Kennard 5
Braian Angola-Rodas 1 Steals Jayson Tatum 2
Christ Koumadje 2 Blocks Amile Jefferson 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Florida State 70 41.5 5-13 11-17 8 37 3 4 12
Duke 75 45.8 7-18 14-19 7 36 6 5 14