Scheyer: Duke’s Maluach OK after vomiting on court during 2nd half of win over NC State
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke coach Jon Scheyer said freshman big man Khaman Maluach was OK after vomiting on the court during the second half of Monday night’s 74-64 win against North Carolina State.
The 7-foot-2 Maluach was standing just outside the lane near the baseline behind N.C. State’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield when he turned and was sick with 4:21 left. Maluach sat briefly on the court before laying on his back while team medical staff tended to him. Maluach was alert the entire time, eventually sitting up and then being helped to his feet to walk slowly off the court. He soon left the bench for the rest of the game.
“He wasn’t sick, it’s just he was cramping, chugged a lot of Gatorade quickly,” Scheyer said. “And that’s what happened when he threw up. But I just think it speaks to (his) character. He was doing whatever he could to get back in the game. Obviously, he drank too much there.”
It led to a jarring stoppage of about five minutes while staffers used spray cleaner and numerous towels to clear and wipe down the court. Maluach wasn’t in the locker room when reporters arrived for postgame interviews.
“Khaman’s one of the toughest people I know,” graduate transfer teammate Sion James said. “So we trust that he’ll bounce back. We know he’ll be OK.”
That was the first of two late stoppages due to health concerns, the other coming with 3 1/2 minutes left when one of the “Cameron Crazies” student fans fainted in the stands and was carried out by arena security officials. Duke spokesman Kyle Serba said the fan had gotten overheated and was treated at Cameron Indoor Stadium before walking out on her own.
The Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were playing their second game in three days going back to Saturday’s 63-56 win at Wake Forest, which had been Duke’s toughest league game to date. This one was another test, with Duke rallying from 13 down before halftime and having to fight to the final minute to beat the Wolfpack (9-11, 2-7) in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game, won by N.C. State during its improbable Final Four run.
And next up is the first taste of the North Carolina rivalry for a team led largely by its freshmen, including star Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Maluach as every-game starters.
“I’m worried about (Maluach). We have to get him rested,” Scheyer said. “But I think for our freshmen, this is the first I saw them just (with) a battle on Saturday, turn around and it’s a battle tonight.
“We have to help them better. I have to help them better, however that is, to have them more ready to go physically.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer
