DURHAM, N.C. — Once the shots started falling for Duke freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, it wasn’t long before another top-five opponent went down, too.
Sulaimon scored all 17 of his points in the second half of the second-ranked Blue Devils’ 73-68 come-from-behind victory over No. 4 Ohio State on Wednesday night.
“I let my teammates down in the beginning, not playing as well as I could be, and (coach Mike Krzyzewski) really got on me at halftime," Sulaimon said. “I just love these guys and wanted to go out there and respond."
Mason Plumlee had 21 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds, and Ryan Kelly added 15 points and hit 3-pointers on consecutive trips downcourt early during the 20-7 run that put the Blue Devils (7-0) ahead to stay and sent them to their third win over a top-five team this month.
Deshaun Thomas scored 16 points for Ohio State (4-1), while Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. had 11 apiece. The Buckeyes were held to 33.8 percent shooting.
“If you had told me we were going to shoot 34 percent, I would have said we got ran out of the gym tonight," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said.
Shannon Scott pulled the Buckeyes within 66-64 with a free throw with 28.9 seconds left but had a critical turnover on the next trip down, and Quinn Cook sealed it by hitting six free throws in the final 27.3 seconds.
“We just didn’t do a good job of staying together, and they started going on a run," Craft said. “We couldn’t weather it."
Cook finished with 12 points for Duke, which shot 58 percent in the second half — Sulaimon was seven of 10 in the final 20 minutes — to remain unbeaten at home in the made-for-TV ACC-Big Ten Challenge and preserve its school-record winning streak at home against nonconference opponents.
The Blue Devils won their 97th straight against non-ACC visitors to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Also on Wednesday:
No. 9 Arizona 93
Northern Arizona 50
TUCSON, Ariz. — Mark Lyons scored 18 points and Nick Johnson had 10 points and seven assists for Arizona. The Wildcats (4-0) overwhelmed the Lumberjacks from the get-go, showing no signs of rust after an eight-day break. The Wildcats built an 18-point lead in the first half and shut down Northern Arizona in the second for their 29th straight win over the Lumberjacks (2-4).
Boise State 83
No. 11 Creighton 70
OMAHA, Neb. — Derrick Marks scored a career-high 35 points, including 18 straight in the second half, to lead Boise State to the upset.
Miami 67
No. 13 Michigan State 59
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Senior Trey McKinney Jones scored a career-high 18 points and Miami held Michigan State without a field goal for a 5½-minute stretch in the second half. McKinney Jones went five for seven from 3-point range, including a basket that capped a 14-2 run to start the second half that put them ahead 41-33.
No. 22 Illinois 75
Georgia Tech 62
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Joseph Bertrand made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and scored every point in a 10-0 run for Illinois in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
No. 24 UNLV 85
UC Irvine 57
LAS VEGAS — Freshman Anthony Bennett and junior Mike Moser scored 19 points apiece to lead UNLV. Using tenacious defense, the Rebels held UC Irvine scoreless during a crucial 5 minutes of the second half, long enough to widen their lead to 20 points and take the Anteaters out of the game.
No. 25 New Mexico 76
Mercer 58
ALBUQUERQUE — Alex Kirk had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Cameron Bairstow added a career-high 16 points for New Mexico.
Arizona State 67
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 54
TEMPE, Ariz. — Carrick Felix scored 21 points on eight of 11 shooting as Arizona State used a second-half run in beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
SMU 62
Utah 55
DALLAS — Jalen Jones scored 20 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and SMU beat Utah to improve the Mustangs to 7-1 under new coach Larry Brown for their best start in six years.
Stanford 68
Seattle 57
STANFORD, Calif. — Andy Brown scored a career-high 17 points and Dwight Powell had a career-high 13 rebounds to lead Stanford past Seattle.
Washington State 64
Idaho 55
PULLMAN, Wash. — Brock Motum had 26 points and pulled nine rebounds to help Washington State beat the Vandals, making it 10 straight wins for the Cougars over Idaho.
UCLA 82
CS Northridge 56
LOS ANGELES — Norman Powell led four players in double figures with 17 points and UCLA bounced back from an upset loss to beat Cal State Northridge.
Washington 66
Saint Louis 61
SEATTLE — C.J. Wilcox finished with 27 points, Aziz N’Diaye scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, and Washington snapped a two-game home losing streak by holding on for a win over Saint Louis.
