CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Another Paolo Banchero double-double and Wendell Moore’s strong second half kept No. 7 Duke atop the ACC standings on Saturday night.
Banchero scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Moore scored 11 of his 14 points after halftime as the Blue Devils pulled away to beat Boston College, 72-61, at Conte Forum.
The double-double was the seventh in ACC play for Banchero, the 6-10 freshman named the ACC’s preseason player of the year.
Moore, a 6-5 junior forward, hit four of five of his 3-pointers, including three in the second half.
Moore played two days after taking a ugly, hard fall to the court Thursday night at Clemson when Tigers senior guard David Collins undercut him as Moore dunked. Collins was ejected for the flagrant foul and the ACC suspended him for one game.
Duke (21-4, 11-3 ACC) won its fifth consecutive road game in league play. Trevor Keels added 13 points for the Blue Devils while Mark Williams and A.J. Griffin scored 10 points each.
James Karnik led Boston College (9-14, 4-9 ACC) with 21 points while DeMarr Langford added 16. The Eagles shot 40% while making just 1 of 12 3-pointers.
Duke led 37-28 at halftime and pushed its lead into double-digits for the first time when Moore hit a pair of free throws with 18 minutes to play giving Duke a 42-31 lead. A pair of free throws by Williams put the Blue Devils ahead 46-34 at 15:47.
When Moore drilled a 3-pointer from the corner in front of Duke’s bench with 14:22 to play, the Blue Devils led 51-36 and appeared on their way to an easy win.
But Boston College reeled off eight points in a row, aided when Williams hit Langford in the face while attempting to block his shot with 12:39 to play. Langford hit two free throws and, as the Eagles retained possession, added a driving layup.
Langford’s two free throw after Duke’s Theo John fouled him while block his dunk attempt left Duke with a 51-44 lead with 11:25 to play.
But Banchero stopped the run with a basket inside to trigger an 11-0 Blue Devils run. Moore added a 3-pointer and Keels tipped in Banchero’s miss before Banchero drove the lane to score on an up-and-under move.
When Jeremy Roach sank two free throws with 7:59 to play, Duke led 62-44 and the Eagles never threatened again.
Duke made its final four shots of the first half during a 13-4 run that put the Blue Devils ahead 37-28 at halftime. The Blue Devils shot 51.7%, receiving 10 points each from Griffin and Banchero in the first half.
Karnik scored 12 points prior to halftime helping keep the Eagles close. Duke never led by more than five points before Banchero scored on a drive then, with 11.3 seconds left in the half, drove and dished to Williams for a dunk giving the Blue Devils their nine-point halftime lead.
