Chauncey Wiggins and Lajae Jones helped give the nation's No. 1 team a massive scare before the Seminoles fell.
Florida State came within a final three-pointer at the buzzard. Robert McCray V's final attempt came close to handing the Seminoles one of their biggest upsets ever.
Except the shot rimmed out and top-ranked Duke escaped 80-79 on Thursday night.
The final attempt wasn't just the talk of the night. Same with FSU losing its narrow halftime lead and watching the Blue Devils go on a 19-2 run.
Chauncey Wiggins and Lajae Jones watched that run unfold from their eyes. Both spoke about what went Duke's way with reporters after the defeat with postgame reporters.
"With me, I would just say they were making a lot of shots," Wiggins began. "As we can see, they out-rebounded us, which was on us."
But Wiggins found a way to keep his teammates motivated.
"I just kept telling the guys, 'stay connected.' We were leading, I think they were up 69, 61 and I just tried to tell them, stay connected, we can win this game," he said.
Jones dropped 28 points on the nation's No. 1 team to lead FSU. He was equally honest about the run Duke went on to start the second half.
"I mean, it's a game of runs, at the end of the day. We went on a run, they went on a run. All you've got to do is just stop the bleeding and just get on your own run, as well," Jones said.
The Seminoles managed to contain Cameron Boozer as much as they can. Boozer scored 23 points but turned the ball over five times.
Head coach Luke Loucks created a defensive pressure scheme that prevented a third scorer reaching double figures. Loucks, though, was most pleased with the energy and effort of his team following a rough 1-6 start in ACC play.
"Life is full of ups and downs. It's full of challenges. The thing I'm pleased with most with those six seniors, and really our whole team, we never let those lows get to us and break our spirit and break our character," Loucks said after the defeat.
Now he waves goodbye to his senior class including Wiggins and Jones. But has more optimism moving forward after handing Duke its scare.
"I think as they go through life, especially the six that are departing, hopefully they bring that with them. It doesn't matter how much life kicks you, what curve balls hit you in the face, you've got to be resilient, and you've got to have a great attitude and show up and work every day. And I felt like our team for the most part did that, especially in the second half of the season," Loucks said.
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