Second Half Surge No. 2 Duke Past Virginia Tech, 76-65

DURHAM – Freshman Paolo Banchero was 23 points and second-placed Duke fired 62 per cent in the second half to beat Virginia Tech 76-65 in their ACC opening on Wednesday night.

Banchero scored 17 points in the dominant second half, accelerating the transition to a smaller lineup around a versatile 10-meter striker. This helped Duke (11-1, 1-0 ACC) wipe out an eight-point deficit early in the half and slowed Virginia Tech’s Keve Alumaa after his big first-half performance.

Junior Wendell Moore Jr., added 18 points for Duke, who has won four in a row.

Banchero started with a green vision of a 42-36 deficit, scored a goal in the run, then flipped his own overtake and followed a step backwards – with a three-pointer – all against Alum. Banchero followed it, taking to the air and then zipping to the passport cut Trevor Keels goals and a 43-42 lead with a 14:31 mark.

The lead grew from then on when Banchero scored in a rising move against Aluma and then put his own failure to limit the 27-7 lap, which pushed Duke to a 63-49 lead at 7:35.

It was the dominant stretch from Duke’s stellar freshman, which the 6-9 red-shirt parent had thoroughly won in the opening period.

Virginia Tech (8-5, 0-2) closed three times in the last five and a half minutes and had a great opportunity to get even closer as Aluma got an open corner to three down 72-65. But he was unable to make contact, and then Keels followed with two free throws and a transition that crashed unsealed.

Aluma scored 17 points before Half Time, which helped Hokies lead a 36-32 break, but things got harder during the rest of the way when he ended up with 25 points on 10 rebounds.

Justyn Mutts added 20 points to Hokies, who scored 43 percent of the match and went only 1/9 with three points after halftime.

GREAT PICTURE

The Blue Devils participated in this with three consecutive conference victories, the last of which came against Elon over the weekend after two previous opponents had to retreat due to COVID-19 protocols. The first league win of the season came after moving to a smaller lineup, with freshmen 6-6 AJ Griffin (13 points) moves to the center Mark Williams 16:53 played a big role as the group raised energy levels, became more active in defense, and turned the Blue Devils off more often during the transition.

NEXT

The Blue Devils will return from a holiday break with a road match at Clemson on Wednesday, December 29th. The tipoff is set at 14:00 on the ACC Network.

# Good week