Vernon Carey Jr. poured in 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as No. 9 Duke withstood a second-half rally from visiting Pittsburgh to win 79-67 on an eventful Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.
Tre Jones added 14 points, Jordan Goldwire had 13 points and Cassius Stanley provided 11 points for Duke (17-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which hadn't played in a week.
It marked the return of former Duke player and former assistant coach Jeff Capel, the second-year Pittsburgh coach who brought the Panthers to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time. Last season, Duke won a meeting in Pittsburgh.
Capel was assessed a first-half technical foul with the Panthers trailing 20-16.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski scolded the fans, who are nicknamed the Cameron Crazies, at halftime after they had chanted Capel's name late in the opening half. This was the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams.
Sophomore Au'Diese Toney's career-high 27 points and Justin Champagnie's 13 points paced Pittsburgh (13-8, 4-6), which has lost four of its last six games. Duke has won the past five meetings.
Carey made 11 of 17 shots from the field in reaching the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season.
Duke led 60-42 in the second half before its offense went stale.
Toney's 3-pointer and Champagnie's dunk off a Duke turnover drew Pittsburgh within 66-61 with less than seven minutes remaining. It was 68-65 before the Blue Devils scored the next 11 points.
Duke built a 35-23 lead on the way to a 45-34 halftime edge. By then, Goldwire had 11 points, which reflected a career-high total for the junior guard.
The Blue Devils shot 7-for-14 on first-half 3s, with Goldwire hitting three of those.
Champagnie and Toney both played the full 40 minutes for the Panthers.
Duke has won two games in a row since a two-game skid. Its next three games will be on the road.
--Field Level Media
