ATLANTA (AP) — Otega Oweh made four free throws in the final 10.3 seconds and No. 19 Kentucky earned the first big victory of Mark Pope’s coaching tenure, knocking off No. 6 Duke 77-72 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday evening.

In the frantic final seconds, Duke (2-1) tied the score at 72 on Cooper Flagg’s layup with 1:14 left, but never made another shot.

Flagg spoiled a 26-point night by turning the ball over twice in the final minute to give the Wildcats the victory (3-0).

Oweh made a steal that led to a pair of free throws, then grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed Lamont Butler free throw, drawing another foul that resulted in two more free throws with 0.5 seconds left. END.

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Andrew Carr led Kentucky with 17 points, while Oweh added 15.

It was a huge win for Pope, a former Kentucky player who returned to his alma mater following the departure of longtime coach John Calipari.

Takeaways

Duke: The Blue Devils only turned the tables seven times on the night, but Flagg’s mistakes at the end cost them a chance at the victory.

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Kentucky: The Wildcats showed a lot of balance. Only three players reached double figures, but nine players got on the scoresheet.

Key moment

With Duke trailing 74-72, Flagg tripped while dribbling in the corner and ended up putting his hand on the baseline while trying to regain his balance, handing the ball back to the Wildcats with 5 seconds remaining.

Key statistic

Duke was just 4 of 23 from 3-point range, while the Wildcats made 10 of 25 from beyond the arc.

To be continued

Duke returns home to face Wofford on Saturday. Kentucky hosts Lipscomb next Tuesday to begin a four-game homestand.

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