Boozer, Brown carry depleted Duke past North Carolina without Wilson :: WRAL.com

DURHAM — Down two starters, No. 1 Duke dominated the second half against rival North Carolina, cruising to a commanding 76-61 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Of more concern to the Blue Devils — the likely No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and a top contender for the national title — is the status of starting center Patrick Ngongba and point guard Caleb Foster. Ngongba missed the entire game and Foster was injured in the first half. Both had walking boots on their right foot in the second half.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said it’s unlikely that either will play in next week’s ACC Tournament as his team preps for the NCAA Tournament.

No. 17 North Carolina, playing without star freshman Caleb Wilson who is now out for the season, cut a 39-34 halftime deficit to 41-40. But Duke went on a 30-6 run after that to put the game away. The Blue Devils outrebounded UNC 24-10 in the second half.

“It was a great answer for us in the second half,” Scheyer said. “Just how we responded with our defense and pulled away.”

Freshman Cameron Boozer and senior Maliq Brown, who started in place of Ngongba, led the way. Boozer had a team-high 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Brown scored 15 points and had nine rebounds and five steals, disrupting the UNC offense all night.

“Maliq dominated the game,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Obviously, Cameron is a gifted player, but I felt like Maliq’s presence disrupted us on both ends of the floor – whether it was his post defense, ball screen defense, steals and deflections, his screens, passing ability, being able to rim run, score around the basket.”

Scheyer referred to Brown as his sixth starter earlier in the week and stumped for Brown to be the league and national defensive player of the year. Brown, a former ACC All-Defensive team member at Syracuse in his second year at Duke, played through two dislocated shoulders last season and battled a knee injury earlier this year. He’s rounding into form, Scheyer said.

“Maliq is as unselfish a guy as I’ve ever coached,” Scheyer said. “He’s as competitive as a player I’ve coached.”

Those steals and deflection and just presence helped the Blue Devils outscore UNC 24-4 in points off turnovers. UNC had 14 turnovers to just eight by Duke.

PHOTOS: No. 17 North Carolina at No. 1 Duke

Freshman Derek Dixon led the Tar Heels with 17 points, one of four players in double figures. Henri Veesaar had 11 points and nine rebounds.

North Carolina was looking for the regular-season sweep of the Blue Devils after handing Duke its lone conference loss with a 71-68 victory last month in Chapel Hill.

UNC learned Friday that Wilson, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, would be out for the season. He broke his right thumb in practice Thursday while dunking. He was working his way back from a fracture in his left hand and was on track to play against the Blue Devils before suffering the second injury. He was on the bench for the Tar Heels.

UNC fell to 5-2 without Wilson this season. The Tar Heels are 12-4 in games without one or more of Wilson, Veesaar or Seth Trimble. They are 12-3 in games with their complete team.

“We have more than enough to get it done,” Davis said. “I love these kids. I love the fight, the resiliency, the perseverance of this group, and I’ll roll with this team, with this group every day.”

Duke (28-2, 16-1) is the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament. North Carolina (24-6, 12-5) is the No. 4 seed, meaning the teams could meet for a third time in Friday’s semifinal. The full ACC Tournament schedule is here.