Isaiah Evans steps up for Duke in the ACC Tournament

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Duke freshman and North Mecklenburg High graduate Isaiah Evens celebrates after making a shot in the Blue Devils' 78-70 win against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament March 13 at Spectrum Center. Duke

Cooper Flagg went down, and Isaiah Evans stepped up for Duke.

Flagg sustained an ankle injury in the first half of the Blue Devils’ 78-70 win against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals and was unable to return. After Duke’s 0-for-13 start from three-point range, Evans hit Duke’s first three-point basket late in the half to start their comeback from a 26-12 deficit. 

“I thought Isaiah really broke it open,” Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said. “His energy, obviously his shot making, and then Khaman [Maluach] gets two fouls, Maliq [Brown] gets hurt, and then Pat [Ngongba], the job he did, comes into the game to pick us up. He had a great block at the rim, had some good finishes, and then all of a sudden at halftime [the deficit] is five, which is a big deal.”

Kon Knueppel scored 28 points to lead Duke (29-3), the nation’s top-ranked team. The Blue Devils advanced to Friday's semifinals against North Carolina (22-12) at 7 p.m.

Evans — a North Mecklenburg alumnus who helped the Vikings win the 4A state championship a year ago — was a force in his homecoming.

“It's great,” he said. “The air smells great – you know what I'm saying? I’m just glad to be back home, glad to put on a show for the home crowd. But most importantly, I'm glad just to advance to the next round.”

Evans finished with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting with four buckets from three-point range. His confidence to let fly was developed at North Meck when the lights weren’t as bright.

“Just staying in the gym consistently, shooting those same shots that I get in the game,” Evans said, “and then once that first one goes in – every shooter knows once the first one goes in, it’s a completely different game. So, just staying consistently in the gym, getting the same reps in with coach [Emmanuel] Dildy, my assistant coaches, and keeping the main thing the main thing.”

Evans’ minutes have steadily increased as the season progressed, and in a moment where his team needed him most, it paid off against the Yellow Jackets.

“The mentality has just been doing whatever I need to do to get on the court,” Evans said, “and then when I'm on the court, do whatever I need to do to help us win. Right now, that's playing defense, hitting shots, rebounding, being a great teammate, giving us energy, so that's what I'm going to do every game.”

Scheyer said X-rays on Flagg’s ankle were negative. If Flagg has his way about it, he’ll play tomorrow. His coach is more cautious. 

“Well, I already know how he is wired,” Scheyer said. “To be honest with you, I would have to be convinced by everybody in the locker room when I go back there that he should play. It’s not worth it. It just isn’t. Again, he was swollen already. It’s not about being ready to go tomorrow. That's not the most important thing for us. We’ve got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the tournament, but I would have to be really convinced that we should even consider seeing if he can go tomorrow. He may not be able to go anyway. He probably won’t be able to go anyway, but I think it’s a real long shot.”

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