It certainly wasn’t easy but the Duke Blue Devils are the 2019 2K Empire Classic Champions after defeating the Georgetown Hoyas 81-73 on Friday night in Madison Square Garden.
Like in its win over California on Thursday night, No. 1 Duke got off to a slow start, but the tenacious and attacking Hoyas made Duke pay for it, jumping out to a 29-18 lead.
For the remainder of the first half, Duke would chip away at the Georgetown lead and take a 33-31 lead just before halftime but the Hoyas would respond right before the buzzer, as the two teams went into the half tied at 33.