Duke Basketball: Jefferson, Jones lead Blue Devils to comeback over Miami

Duke basketball bounced back by defeating the Miami Hurricanes at home, 70-58.

If Amile Jefferson or Matt Jones’ value was ever in question, it can now be said with finality that they are some of the most crucial pieces to Duke’s success in every game.

With Grayson Allen struggling after taking a hard hit to the face and dislocating his left pinky finger and with Kennard uncharacteristically struggling to score against what was admittedly an impressive defensive effort from Miami on the road, the seniors produced when they were needed most.

Jefferson, in his first game back from a bruised bone in his foot, grabbed 12 rebounds and recorded two steals while providing the veteran defensive presence down low that the Blue Devils so desperately missed against teams like Louisville and Florida State. His long frame allows him to be effective in staying in front of his defender and it helps him fly over from the weak side to deny shots when a teammate loses a step against their man.

While he doesn’t typically provide serious point totals (five points versus Miami, 13.6 points per game this season), he affects the outcome of the game in ways that are much more valuable to this Duke team.

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Matt Jones lit up for 13 second-half points, to power Duke to an impressive 24-5 run. That helped the Blue Devils erase a 10-point halftime deficit and jump ahead 49-40 with less than 12 minutes to go. Duke would go up by nearly 20 before coasting to the victory. While they endured one of their less-impressive 3-point shooting nights (5-of-16), the Blue Devils maintained composure throughout the night. They committed just 10 turnovers and shot 46.2 percent from the floor. It wasn’t necessarily their most impressive showing, but it was a huge win for a team that has been struggling in the ACC, especially in the second half of games.

Miami took an early lead and looked to be in control of the game as they held Duke to just 19 points until there were just under three minutes to go in the first half. Given that they were playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, that’s quite impressive. Davon Reed got going early, and his 3-pointer gave the Hurricanes their biggest lead of 11 a few minutes before halftime.

The rest of Miami’s starters put together a fantastic game for head coach Jim Larranaga. Bruce Brown finished with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block, while Ja’Quan Newton chipped in 13. Their efforts weren’t enough, however, as Miami’s bench shot a dismal 0-of-7 from the field to total 0 points and just three rebounds in 36 combined minutes of action. Had just one member of the Hurricanes’ bench stepped up, this could’ve been a completely different ballgame.

Duke will look to take down NC State at home before heading to Winston-Salem to take on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Both are extremely winnable games now that Jefferson is back in the picture. At 3-3 in the ACC, Duke will need to minimize their mistakes and begin to solidify their identity this season before taking on Notre Dame in South Bend on January 30th.

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Miami takes on Boston College at home before returning to the Research Triangle to take on UNC at the Dean Smith Center. With just two wins in the ACC thus far, the time is now for the Hurricanes to turn things around should they like to consider themselves a solid NCAA Tournament team.