Champagnie's 31 Points Help Pitt Beat Duke 79-73
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Justin Champagnie tied a career-high 31 points on 12-for-15 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Pittsburgh held off Duke for a 79-73 win on Tuesday night.
It was the fifth 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound effort for the sophomore Champagnie in just his eighth game of the season for the Panthers (8-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Au'Diese Toney scored 13 of his 22 points from the foul line and had 11 rebounds for Pitt. Xavier Johnson added nine points and a career-high 11 assists.
Following Matthew Hurt's layup with 1:23 remaining to bring Duke (5-4, 3-2) within 75-73, Toney threw down a dunk off a pass from Johnson with 56 seconds left to seal the win despite the fact the Panthers missed four foul shots in the last 17 seconds.
Pitt extended its 43-34 halftime lead to 55-40 on Champagnie's layup with 16:32 to go. The Blue Devils proceeded to outscore Pitt 33-24 for the remainder but never took the lead.
Jalen Johnson scored a career-high 24 points — 18 after halftime — grabbed 15 rebounds and passed for seven assists for Duke before fouling out with 2:15 left.
Wendell Moore Jr. scored 15 points for Duke, Hurt 13, and Jeremy Roach 11.
Pitt snapped a five-game skid against Duke, which leads the all-time series 13-8, including 6-4 on the road (3-2 at the Petersen Events Center) and 7-2 in ACC regular-season contests.
The two teams' first scheduled game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 29 was postponed due to COVID protocols. The contest has yet to be rescheduled.
Duke heads to Louisville for Saturday contest while the Panthers head to Boston College to face the Eagles also on Saturday.
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