Georgia Tech Upsets No. 1 Duke, 80-79

No. 1-ranked Duke was upset by No. 10 Georgia Tech, 80-79, Sunday, ending the Blue Devils’ winning streak at 23 games.

Malcolm Mackey made three of four free throws during the final 12 seconds before Duke’s Marty Clark sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it a one-point game.

Georgia Tech, 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, wasted a 15-point first-half lead as Duke (10-1, 1-1) took its first and only lead of the game at 60-59 with 9:20 to play on a basket by Grant Hill, who had a career-high 29 points.

“We were pretty confident when we caught them,” Grant Hill said. “I guess we used up too much to catch up. When you battle from behind, you use up a lot of energy.”

Georgia Tech regained the lead, 62-60, on a three-point shot by Martice Moore and took the lead for good at 68-66 on a basket by Mackey with 4:58 left.

Duke was within 76-74 after a basket by Clark with 1:18 to play, but a free throw by James Forrest with 42 seconds left made the score 77-74.

After Mackey made two free throws to give Georgia Tech a 79-74 lead with 12 seconds left, Bobby Hurley made a jumper to get Duke within 79-76 with six seconds left.

But Mackey converted one of two free throws with five seconds left for an 80-76 lead, rendering Clark’s three-pointer at the buzzer meaningless.

“I wasn’t nervous about the last two because I knew I had to make just one,” Mackey said. “The one and one before that was tough.

“I’m a senior and I wanted the ball. I wanted to shoot the free throws. That’s why I held the ball when I got it--so I could get fouled.”

Mackey, the ACC’s leading rebounder, finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski: “Our kids could have started out stronger, but it’s not like I’m down on our guys. Georgia Tech played hard for 40 minutes and they deserved to win.”

Two-time national champion Duke hadn’t lost since a 72-68 loss to Wake Forest last Feb. 23. The 23-game winning streak equaled a school record set last season.

Duke shot 39.1% (25 of 64), compared to 56.9% (33 of 58) for Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets had five players in double figures. Travis Best had 15, Forrest 14 and Bryan Hill and freshman Drew Barry each had 11.

Hurley added 18 points for the Blue Devils. Clark had 14 and Thomas Hill 10.

Georgia Tech took a 12-0 lead after only 3:35 as Duke missed its first five shots and had five turnovers before Hurley sank a three-point shot 20 seconds later before a sellout crowd of 10,125 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The Yellow Jackets led by 19-5 after only 5:28 on a three-point basket by Best, his eighth point of the game.

Grant Hill then scored eight consecutive points on a two baskets and four free throws to get Duke within 19-13 less than two minutes later.

Georgia Tech had its largest lead of the first half at 34-19 after a three-point basket by Barry with 6:08 left. Duke got to within 44-37 at the half by capitalizing on free throws. The Blue Devils made 18 of 23 with Grant Hill converting 10 of 10. Hurley made only three of seven.