Sports

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) ― For Duke the problem is poor passing and shaky shooting and dismal defense.

Or maybe it's body snatchers.

No. 5-ranked Duke waged a frantic late rally but fell short and lost to Miami for the first time in 45 years Wednesday, 96-95. That made it two defeats in four days for the Blue Devils after 12 consecutive victories.

"We are not the same team these last two ballgames," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It's almost like someone has come in and invaded their bodies."

Looking to bounce back from their first conference loss Sunday at Wake Forest, the Blue Devils instead stumbled again. For the second game in a row, they had a season high in turnovers and gave up a season-high point total.

They struggled early shooting from the perimeter against Miami's zone, and when Duke tried to force the ball inside, the Hurricanes often tipped it away and repeatedly showed more hustle chasing loose balls.

As a result, the Blue Devils (22-3 overall, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) find themselves saddled with a losing streak after being ranked No. 2 just last week.

"We definitely have to regroup," said sophomore Jon Scheyer, who scored a career-high 27 points. "It's not about Xs and Os for us. It's about playing with heart. It's one thing if you lose and you put everything on the line, but it's another thing if you lose and you play passive and turn the ball over like crazy."

The Hurricanes (18-7, 5-6) beat the Blue Devils for the first time since the first game in the series Dec. 21, 1962.

"When they see Duke on the schedule, this is their Super Bowl so they are going to be up for that game," the Blue Devils' DeMarcus Nelson said. "They're going to play over their heads. We have to be ready to match their level of intensity."

The Hurricanes scored 15 consecutive points to build a 20-point lead early in the second half and held on. They made six of eight free throws in the final 41 seconds to preserve the upset.

"I had a feeling," said Jack McClinton, who scored 22 points for Miami. "Something inside of me felt good about our team. I just felt something great was going to happen."

Senior Dwayne Collins scored a career-high 26 points to help the Hurricanes win their third ACC game in a row. They beat a top-five team for the first time since a victory at No. 2 Connecticut on Feb. 20, 1999.

"It's a special win," coach Frank Haith said. "The atmosphere we had out there was terrific. But we can't stop. We're still trying to build a resume to make the NCAA tournament. There's no question this helps."

Duke struggled from the start against Miami's zone, failing to score on eight consecutive possessions. The Blue Devils committed eight turnovers in the first 8 minutes, missed seven shots in a row and fell behind 17-11.

Duke twice tied the score later in the half, but the Hurricanes scored on their last four possessions, and Collins' reverse layup in the final seconds put them up 41-36 at halftime.

Collins sank a similar shot to start the second half, drew a foul and made the free throw for an eight-point lead. After Kyle Singler sank a 3-pointer for Duke, the Hurricanes took control with their 15-point run, capped by McClinton's 3.

"We made mistake after mistake," Nelson said. "We really turned the ball over a lot, and that put a lot of pressure on our defense. They got a lot of buckets in transition."

Duke will try to shake its slump Saturday at home against St. John's.

"We're going to turn this thing back around," Nelson said. "We've been too good all year to have whatever it is holding us back as a team. We're definitely going to find out what it is and address it. Our season is not going on a downward spiral."

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