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Duke's Mike Krzyzewski first to 1,000 wins with victory over St. John's

Anthony Gruppuso / Reuters

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is the first men's basketball coach in Division I history with 1,000 wins after his fifth-ranked Blue Devils defeated St. John's by a score of 77-68 on Sunday.

Interestingly enough, the win came at Madison Square Garden in New York, the site of Coach K's 903rd career victory in 2011, which broke a tie with Bob Knight to become Division I's winningest coach.

Coach K was asked after the game what the milestone represents.

"It represents 40 years of being with good people. At West Point, and at Duke, I've had the best ADs and presidents," he said in a postgame interview with ESPN. "Both schools attracted the type of kids who are willing to pay the price to win. I've been lucky. I've been very lucky and I've also been lucky to have been coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time."

The win was in doubt for much of the afternoon, but the Blue Devils outscored the Red Storm by 13 points in the second half, thanks in large part to an 18-2 run down the stretch.

Duke guard Tyus Jones led all scorers with 22 points, connecting on five of his 11 attempts from the field and all 10 of his free-throw attempts. Center Jahlil Okafor recorded the game's only double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

St. John's guard Sir'Dominic Pointer led the Red Storm with 21 points, filling out his stat line with nine rebounds, five steals, four assists and four blocks.

A public address announcement after the game congratulated Coach K on behalf of St. John's, and a crowded Garden chanted his name, with many fans holding signs to congratulate him.

"I'm in it right now. I wasn't in it until now," he said. "You know, to see the happiness of my players makes it good. We have to keep it in perspective. It makes us 17-2 and we've got to go to Notre Dame on Wednesday, but for this moment, for basketball, for the game and for this program, we'll enjoy this one right now."

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