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Duke avoids upset loss at home to Wake Forest

The Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. — RJ Barrett scored 28 points and No. 4 Duke held on to beat Wake Forest 71-70 on Tuesday night after Chaundee Brown’s jumper rimmed out at the buzzer.

Tre Jones added 13 points for a sluggish Duke team missing star freshman Zion Williamson for a fourth straight game with a sprained right knee. The Blue Devils (26-4, 14-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame 41 percent shooting and a 16-for-26 showing from the free-throw line to win their 10th straight in the in-state series.

The Blue Devils trailed by 10 with 16 minutes remaining and never led by more than three until the final three minutes.

Brown had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest (11-18, 4-13), which closed within 69-68 with 43.9 seconds left. Duke bled the shot clock before the left-handed Barrett hit a right-handed jumper in the lane to put the Blue Devils up by three with 17.3 seconds remaining.

Brandon Childress hit a layup with 7.4 seconds left, and Wake Forest had one last chance after Duke turned it over while trying to inbound the ball. Childress missed a 3-pointer with about two seconds left and the rebound went to Brown, whose short jumper spun around the back of the iron before falling out at the horn.

Elsewhere:

NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 79, BOSTON COLLEGE 66: Luke Maye had 17 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to lead North Carolina over Boston College and preserve the Tar Heels’ hopes for a regular-season conference title. Cameron Johnson had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Carolina (25-5, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which won its sixth straight game and went unbeaten on the road in the league for the first time since 2008. Ky Bowman had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Nik Popovic scored 20 for Boston College, which has not beaten the Tar Heels in 12 tries since 2010.

NO. 9 MICHIGAN STATE 91, NEBRASKA 76: Kenny Goins scored 21 of his career-high 24 points in the first half and Matt McQuaid had a career-best 22, leading Michigan State past Nebraska. Aaron Henry scored a season-high 15 points, and Cassius Winston matched his season low with eight points. The Spartans (24-6, 15-4 Big Ten) close the regular season against No. 7 Michigan (26-4, 15-4) at home Saturday night. The Cornhuskers (15-15, 5-14) have lost four in a row and 11 of 13 in what might be Tim Miles ‘ final season as their coach. Nebraska’s James Palmer matched his season high with 30 points. Glynn Watson added 25 and Isaiah Roby had 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

MINNESOTA 73, NO. 11 PURDUE 69: Amir Coffey matched his career with 32 points, making two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to seal Minnesota’s victory over Purdue. The win gives the Gophers a big boost for an NCAA Tournament berth and spoiled the Boilermakers’ bid for an outright Big Ten title. Carsen Edwards scored 22 points and Ryan Cline added 19 for Purdue (22-8, 15-4). The Boilermakers, who had their five-game winning streak broken and lost for only the second time in their last 15 games, fell into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Michigan and Michigan State. The Wolverines and Spartans play each other this weekend, so the best the Boilermakers can do is tie for the regular-season title. Jordan Murphy had all 13 of his points in the first half to go with 14 rebounds, with fellow seniors Dupree McBrayer (10 points, four rebounds, four assists) and Matz Stockman (nine points, six rebounds, seven blocks) also playing key roles for the Gophers (19-11, 9-10).

NO. 14 FLORIDA STATE 73, NO. 15 VIRGINIA TECH 64, OT: M.J. Walker scored nine of his 11 points after halftime, including a critical 3-pointer in overtime, and Florida State rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit.

NO. 19 BUFFALO 82, OHIO 79: Jeremy Harris scored 20 points as Buffalo locked up the Mid-American Conference regular-season title and a top seed in the conference tournament with a victory.

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