Lance King/Getty Images The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils remained unbeaten in ACC play as Cam Reddish knocked down a three in the closing moments to secure a thrilling 80-78 road victory over the No. 13 Florida State Seminoles on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Zion Williamson racked up 11 points and eight rebounds to help pace Duke (14-1, 3-0) to its fourth Top 25 win, but he missed the second half after getting poked in the eye. Fellow freshman sensation RJ Barrett added 32 points. It's the second loss in three ACC games for FSU (13-3, 1-2) after it navigated nonconference play with a single defeat. Mfiondu Kabengele led the 'Noles with 24 points. Phil Cofer chipped in 21 in the near upset. Cam Reddish Must Continue to Play Well for Top-Heavy Duke Reddish is often the forgotten freshman in conversations about the Blue Devils' ridiculous amount of first-year talent. And his up-and-down play as the team's third option behind Williamson and Barrett is reason for concern. Video Play Button Videos you might like The 19-year-old Pennsylvania native arrived at Duke rated the country's No. 2 prospect, based on 247Sports' composite rankings. And, while he's shown positive flashes, he's struggled with consistency, since his offensive touches can be sporadic. He entered Saturday's contest shooting 36.1 percent, including 33.7 percent from three-point range. He's also made little impact elsewhere, averaging 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists across 14 appearances. Those issues continued in the first half against Florida State. He tallied seven points, while Williamson and Barrett combined for 24. Reddish added just one rebound and one assist. He got more of an opportunity in the second half with Williamson sidelined, putting up 16 points after the break, including the game-winner. Yet, the Blue Devils need him to produce regularly—even when their top two scorers are both on the court. That will often mean crashing the boards, working as a distributor and continuing to improve defensively. The 6'8" Reddish has the length and athleticism to make that happen, but operating as a role player is a learning process for a longtime top prospect. Duke needs him to find his niche before the NCAA tournament. Mfiondu Kabengele Emerging As ACC Sixth Man of Year Contender Kabengele provided a much-needed spark for Florida State on a day when a several of the team's starters struggled to create clean looks. The sophomore forward finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, picking up his first double-double of the campaign. Getting that type of bench production is invaluable, especially during March Madness when the margin for error is thin and coaches go looking for instant offense from a reserve. He's reached double figures in scoring 10 times in 16 games. His increased role after he averaged 7.2 points as a freshman should also put him at the forefront of the ACC Sixth Man of the Year race. Kabengele does have competition for the honor, led by the Virginia Cavaliers' Braxton Key and the NC State Wolfpack's DJ Funderburk. And it's the one award where the contenders can change as roles are altered during conference play. But the FSU forward made a major statement with his effort against an elite Duke squad Saturday. What's Next? Both teams must prepare for a quick turnaround, as they'll be back in action Monday night. The Blue Devils will return home to face the Syracuse Orange, while the Seminoles travel north to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers.<doc-sep>Zion Williamson tries to drive to the basket, but Trent Forrest pokes him in the eye and causes him to exit the game. (0:25) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Duke forward Zion Williamson left the Blue Devils' 80-78 win over Florida State late in the first half Saturday after he was poked in the left eye and did not return. Williamson was driving inside when multiple Florida State players met him. He started fumbling the ball, Trent Forrest hit him in the face and Williamson landed hard on the court. Zion Williamson left Duke's game against Florida State late in the first half. Mark Wallheiser/AP Photo He stayed down for several moments, kicking his legs in pain while covering his face, and missed the entire Florida State possession on the other end of the floor. He then came off, saw a trainer, and a few moments later went into the locker room just before the first half ended. When the second half began, Williamson came out with his teammates and sat on the bench but did not enter the game. "He had double vision," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward. "He came out in the second half -- Nate [James, associate head coach] told me, with about three minutes to go -- I wasn't out on the court yet; he ran back and said, 'Zion's got double vision.' And I said, 'Well, let's see. He can't play, obviously, if he has that.' "And we waited, and it didn't clear up. The good thing, he didn't have headaches. Again, I'm not saying intent -- he got poked right in the eye. He's better now. So hopefully he'll be able to play on Monday. But it's a big loss. For this game -- are you kidding? Especially with the athleticism we're facing." Williamson was not made available to the media after the game. When Williamson exited, he had 11 points and eight rebounds. With Williamson out of the game in the second half, Florida State made a concerted effort to go inside more. It had more dunks in the second half than the first.<doc-sep>Duke fans and NBA GMs are collectively holding in the wake of a freak accident which resulted in Zion Williamson exiting Saturday's contest against FSU. The following describes does the injury justice as a description. As you can see, the FSU defender Trent Forrest forms a claw with his fingers, poking Williamson directly in the eye. As a result of Forrest's mandible claw, Zion fell flat to the hard surface, with FSU assuming possession with Duke's undermanned for several seconds. Once the play stopped, Williamson sought the help of a Duke trainer to bring him to his feet. Zion was then carted off to the locker room, never to return. After the game, Duke issued a statement concerning Zion's injury. Team officials cited "double vision" as the worst symptom to arise from the incident in question. Otherwise, Duke seemed chipper in regards to Zion's "improving" condition. They nonetheless prevented him from speaking to the press post-game, as a formality. RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and the other Duke Blue Devils were forced to adopt a lunch pale mentality the rest of the way. In the end, a Cam Reddish three would give Duke the narrow 80-78 victory over FSU. And thus, Zion Williamson walks away knowing he didn't have to suffer in vain.<doc-sep>For Cam Reddish, isolation probably never felt so nice. The Duke freshman's winning 3-pointer Saturday in a 80-78 victory at No. 13 Florida State was such an easy/uncontested shot, it's a small wonder he didn't miss it due to how out of place it must have felt to be that open. Players almost never get that free for a shot in a half-court situation. And on a potential game-clinching set? Forget it. Yet there was Reddish, isolated and alone and ready. He shifted free from Terance Mann, avoided drawing the attention from Trent Forrest and was on an island. Before FSU knew what hit it, the ball was in Reddish's hands. Perhaps unexpectedly, the freshman's moment -- 15 games into the season -- arrived. All net. He might go another decade before finding himself this unoccupied in a game. Reddish finished with 23 points on 5-of-8 3-point shooting and atoned for two would-be guilt-inducing mistakes (a turnover and a foul on a 3-point attempt) in the moments before his glory shot. Duke gets this win, dodging some busy conversation about its standing in the overall landscape of college basketball, but Saturday was all about Reddish. You can make the case he was the best guy to take that shot because he was the guy who needed that bucket more than anyone else. Reddish entered Saturday's game as a player whose standing had slipped not just amongst his ultra-talented teammates but also in the bigger picture. A lot of the "Duke has the top three picks in the 2019 Draft" chatter had stalled due entirely to Reddish's skittish play. In the previous eight games he was averaging less than 23 minutes and 10.3 points on sub-40-percent shooting. Saturday was his opportunity -- and that was even before Duke lost Zion Williamson late in the first half to an eye-poke injury. Speaking of, it's an exceptionally positive sign for Duke that it won on the road against a top-15 team (against a coach in Leonard Hamilton who has twice beaten Duke at home when the Blue Devils were No. 1) without Williamson in the first half and with Tre Jones having an off night. Plus, Duke was bad on the offensive glass after Willaimson was sidelined. And still, a win. RJ Barrett's game-high 32 points must be brought up here, as he's reminding everyone that for all the hype and highlights that Zion is inducing, it's Barrett who leads the team in scoring and is the most dynamic offensive talent on this roster. But Barrett and Williamson, and probably even Jones, will still have more star-making moments to come. Reddish was lost in the mix of it all to this point. Duke was for the most part winning without much from him. Look at the elation in Mike Krzyzewski's face after Reddish's triple falls. There's jubilation in a dramatic win, of course, but given all that's undoubtedly been put into helping Reddish break out of his funk behind the scenes? This opportunity could be one that we look back on and realize it was when Reddish's season and his push toward top-five draft status changed for the better. Expect more opportunities to come for Reddish in the the next few games. First and foremost: he's Duke's most commonly used 3-point weapon. Reddish is the only Duke player with more than 100 3-point attempts this season. With games vs. Syracuse and Virginia awaiting, those teams will tempt Duke into trying the long-ball game. Reddish should have his chances. If he plays well in both of those, then it's time to look out. None of other Duke freshmen are regressing. Bumps are inevitable, but as a unit this is a team that's figuring out well -- it's certainly much further ahead right now than last season's talented freshman class was. And that team was really good! Reddish was always better than what his numbers suggested in December and the early part of January. Basketball is a sport that can often present opportunities and unexpected moments -- and change seasons because of it. A change for a player, or a team, or both. There's no guarantee Duke's going to get this version of Reddish from here on out, but we do know he's capable of being that guy in a big spot. Until Saturday, no one knew for sure if that was the case. The No. 1 team just became more threatening.<doc-sep>
Duke freshman Zion Williamson — as has been the case all season — drew most of the attention prior to the Blue Devils' game against Florida State on Saturday. Fellow freshman RJ Barrett scored a career-high 32 points in the ACC battle in Tallahassee. But it was Duke's other top-rated freshman, Cam Reddish, who played the role of hero in the Blue Devils' last-second, 80-78 win over the 13th-ranked Seminoles. Trailing by one with three seconds remaining, Reddish drilled an uncontested three-pointer to lift Duke for the go-ahead basket in the down-to-the-wire clash that seemed in FSU's favor up until the final play. Reddish finished with 23 points. Duke had a chance to tie the game with five seconds left, but Barrett missed his second free throw. The Blue Devils kept their hopes alive, however, and retained possession when FSU lost the rebound out of bounds. Florida State's size proved to cause significant problems for the Blue Devils, who thrive off of playing positionless basketball with freshmen stars Barrett, Williamson and Reddish all versatile standing around 6-foot-7. Williamson, who had to leave the game for a brief duration after getting poked in the eye and wasn't his usual self, finished with just 11 points. Williamson also was on the bench during key portions of the game as a result. Mfiondu Kabengele had 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for FSU and Phil Cofer added 21 points in the loss. The Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0) are one of three unbeaten teams in ACC play, along with No. 1 Virginia and No. 7 Virginia Tech.