Allen, Kennard lead Duke past N.C. State, 88-80

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Grayson Allen scored 28 points, Luke Kennard added 26 and Duke beat North Carolina State 88-80 on Saturday.

Kennard hit six of the Blue Devils' season-best 14 3-pointers to help them win in coach Mike Krzyzewski's return following a one-game, illness-related absence for Duke (17-6, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Abdul-Malik Abu had 16 points and a career-best 17 rebounds while Anthony "Cat" Barber — the league's top scorer — finished with 26 points for the Wolfpack (12-12, 2-9). Barber's layup with 3½ minutes left pulled them to 79-76.

Then came the five-point possession that effectively sealed it for Duke: Brandon Ingram was fouled by Lennard Freeman while shooting a 3-pointer. Ingram made two free throws but missed the third, Kennard chased down the rebound and Allen swished a 3 — the Blue Devils' first field goal in 7½ minutes — to make it 84-76.

Ingram finished with 14 points and Marshall Plumlee added 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who have won two straight since falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2007. They had Coach K for this one — he missed the trip to Georgia Tech after falling ill and being advised by doctors to stay home.

This one matched the ACC's top two scorers: Barber, who averages a league-best 23.4 points, had put up at least 30 in his previous three games and four of his last five. Allen was second at 20.6 points.

Maverick Rowan scored 17 points with four 3s and Cody Martin added 13 points for N.C. State, which trailed by 10 in the first half but clawed back and went up 52-50 on Abu's alley-oop dunk from Barber with 16½ minutes left.

Duke countered with a Kennard-led 18-4 run and took its largest lead at 67-54 on Allen's free throw with 10:41 to play.

TIP-INS

N.C. State: Saturday marked the 28th anniversary of the Wolfpack's last win in Cameron Indoor Stadium against a Krzyzewski-coached Duke team. N.C. State did beat the Blue Devils here in 1995 when Coach K was out due to back surgery and exhaustion.

Duke: Allen hit all 12 of his free throws and finished five points shy of the career high he set two months ago against Long Beach State. ... Kennard, a freshman, was four points from his season high set last month against Notre Dame.

UP NEXT

N.C. State plays host to Wake Forest on Feb. 13.

Duke plays host to No. 19 Louisville on Monday night.

GALLERY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK IN COLLEGE HOOPS

___

Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joedy-mccreary

___

AP college basketball site: http://collegebasketball.ap.org