Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils narrowly avoided a loss to unranked Wake Forest on Saturday, with Flagg scoring 24 points to lead his team to a 63-56 victory.
In addition to his 24 points, Flagg recorded seven rebounds and six assists, shooting 50 percent from the field and going 7-of-9 from the free throw line. With the win, Duke improved to 17-2 on the season, while Wake Forest dropped to 16-4.
Despite committing seven turnovers, fans praised Flagg for overcoming the team's second-half struggles to keep the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils' season alive:
Behind Flagg, Freshman guard Kon Knueppel finished the night with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists to help extend their win streak to 13 straight games and hold their first place spot in the ACC.
Flagg went 4-of-4 from the field in the first half but missed all of his three-point attempts as the Blue Devils took a 35-22 lead at halftime.
After the break, the Deacons mounted a quick 7-0 run, prompting a Duke timeout as they cut the lead to 35-29. Flagg ramped up his play in the second half, carrying his team to a victory that was capped off with two game-clinching free throws.
Flagg is averaging 19.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season while shooting 48.8 percent from the field as a true freshman with Duke. His impressive performance has garnered significant hype from college basketball fans and NBA hopefuls eager for a future with the phenom.
Duke and Flagg will look to keep their streak alive when they face NC State at home on Monday.
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