KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sophomore forward Mason Plumlee had a career high 25 points and 12 rebounds and Duke used a 13-2 second half run to defeat Marquette 82-77 in the semifinals of the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience Classic.

“I thought we played well in spurts,” Plumlee said. “Obviously we were lackadaisical at times and had too many turnovers. But (we have) a lot of room for improvement.”

Plumlee scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half of a game in which Duke (4-0) never trailed. Marquette was last in a position to take a lead at 57-57 with 10:32 left in regulation.  But Duke went on a 13-2 run and never looked back

“I thought the best seven minutes of the game was from the 10 minute mark to the three minute mark for us,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “There was a lot of game pressure, the game got tied, and I thought our kids responded beautifully to that type of pressure. ”

The Golden Eagles (4-1) fell behind 23-9 early in the first half and fought back to tie the game three separate times in the second half.

“I thought we started out well, got a 22-9 lead, and we didn’t build on it. It’s almost like we got happy, and that it’s just going to come.” Krzyzewski said. “And you know those kids for Marquette, they started turning us over. We had 11 first half turnovers and 19 for the game, that’s what they do, they turn you over.”

The Golden Eagles used a 22-11 run to start the second half and tie the game at 53. Coach Buzz Williams said his team started playing more like a team in the second half.

“We had four assists in the first half,” Williams said. “We finished with 14 (13 according to the box score). Nine of our first 11 baskets in the second half were assisted from that point forward. We’re not good enough to beat anybody much less the best team in the country not doing what it is what we practice everyday”

Williams noted that the Golden Eagles didn’t have an answer to the depth of the defending National Champions

“I don’t know that you can pick a poison because everyone is poisonous … and Mason Plumlee just wore us out,” Williams said.

Senior forward Jimmy Butler contributed 22 points and 6 rebounds to lead Marquette. Butler also noted that Marquette lost control of the game when it stopped playing as a team.

“We played together, we were getting plenty of assisted baskets and we were creating for one another and talking on the defensive end,” Butler said. “When we weren’t one, and we were everybody as individuals, it didn’t work out too well.”

The Golden Eagles trailed 42-31 at halftime, a half that saw junior guard Darius Johnson-Odom go scoreless. Williams said that everyone, including Johnson-Odom, was pressing in the first half.

“We average 27 paints touches in the first half, but we only had four assists,” Williams said.  “(We) had seven turnovers, no ball reversals that leads to shots.”

The Golden Eagles’ next game will be the consolation game of the CBE Classic where they will take on Gonzaga, a team coming in on a two game losing streak.