Cooper Flagg scored an ACC freshman record 42 points to help No. 4 Duke hold off Notre Dame on Saturday, 86-78, and stay unbeaten in conference play.
The 6-foot-9 preseason Associated Press All-American made 11 of 14 shots, 4 of 6 3-pointers and 16 of 17 foul shots. He also had seven assists and six rebounds, turning in an all-around floor game that had him single-handedly wearing down the Notre Dame defense.
[Related: Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper at No. 1? Check out John Fanta’s latest mock draft]
Khaman Maluach added a season-high 19 points for Duke (14-2, 6-0).
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Markus Burton scored 23 points for the Fighting Irish (7-9, 1-4), who made 14 of 23 3-pointers and kept hanging around to make things interesting at the end.
Takeaways
Notre Dame: The Irish fell in a 14-0 hole and trailed by as many as 18 in the second half before getting it to a two-possession game late.
Duke: The Blue Devils have been blowing through the first chunk of the league slate, shooting 51.6% while winning four of their first five ACC games by 20 or more points. Things were tougher this time, with Notre Dame (48.2%) becoming only the fourth opponent to crack 40% shooting all year.
Key moment
Notre Dame got as close as 80-76 on a Burton runner late, but Flagg answered with two free throws while Burton missed a drive on the ensuing possession. That set up two free throws for Maluach with 15.8 seconds left to push the margin back to two possessions.
Key stat
Flagg has now made 12 of 22 3-pointers in his past six games. He was just 8 of 36 in his first 10 college games.
Up next
The Irish host Boston College on Monday. The Blue Devils close a three-game homestand Tuesday against Miami.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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