Late surge pushes Duke past Hokies as Devils win ACC dogfight in Cameron
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Turning Point
With the score tied at 47 with 8:42 left, the Blue Devils went on a 14-4 run sparked by a pair of Nolan Smith free throws and a three-point play by Zoubs.
Blue Devil Ballers
Kyle Singler recorded a second consecutive double-double with 25 points and 10 boards, Nolan Smith scored 23 points, and Brian Zoubek hauled in 16 boards (including eight on the offensive glass).
Duke Data
14-2 — Duke’s record in the past 16 games against the Hokies
27 — Second-chance points scored by Duke in the game, compared to nine by Virginia Tech
15 — Wins in Cameron this season for Duke, marking the ninth time in school history that the Blue Devils have won at least 15 games at home
10 — Three-pointers in the game by Duke (while limiting to Virginia Tech to 2-of-15 shooting from three-point range)
12.7 — Rebounding average by Brian Zoubek in the three recent games he has started for Duke (along with 9.7 PPG in the three starts)
Coach K’s Comments
“Well it is a really big win for us. They are very, very good. Both teams play outstanding defense, so it’s tough to get good looks. We shot 29 percent, I think they shot 32 percent. It’s tough to come by. I thought it was a heck of a game. Even when you got an open look, you were looking to see if someone was going to come there and challenge your shot, because we got some really … some open looks. And we could just not shoot well. You have them for just that instant and then they go away. But then down the stretch, our guys hit everything. When [Virginia Tech] took the lead, [Malcolm] Delaney got that three to go up 45-44, our guys showed a lot of character in winning this ball game. Zoubek’s three-point play was huge. It gave us a five-point lead and then we hit a three at eight points … it just gave us that separation. Then we went up 11 on another three. Our defense was outstanding at the end. We didn’t make any turnovers, so we handled the end of game situation very well. Zoubek getting 16 rebounds is fantastic. He was just so hungry on the boards. Singler played a great game. Defensively, 25 [points] and 10 [rebounds] and some of his offensive rebounds that turned into buckets were huge plays in this game. As you go through a game like this, when buckets are hard to come by and all of the sudden Kyle just getting an offense board and willing it in the basket, you know Kyle is playing very well right now. He has played pretty good all year but he is playing really well right now. I mean we scored 67 points and we hit a three at the end, so it’s like mid-60s and they are mid-50s and Kyle has 25 and 10. That is a heck of a performance.”
Locker Room Reaction
It was another big game for Zoubs as the senior grabbed 16 points and had a key three-point play in the second half that pushed Duke ahead to stay. Said Nolan, “Brian’s been making so many plays for us like that. When he makes those plays, it really gives us a lift and that’s what happened from that play. We really got going. He’s just playing tremendous basketball.” Added Kyle, “Defensively and offensively, he’s been huge for us. He’s kind of our glue guy. He sets great screens for us. Defensively, he’s a big body and rebounds, and he’s very valuable for us.”
Sixth Man
The Crazies seemed to be hoping for a Thanksgiving-style feast in February (as seen here and here). Also, this mini Blue Devil got his own chant from the Crazies (“AWESOME DEVIL”) and was recognized by the full-sized, official Blue Devil.
Around the Web
Box score — Stat recap
AP recap — Duke drops Virginia Tech
Triple threat — Singler, Smith, Scheyer lead Duke to victory
Devils do enough — Rebounding, defense key in win
Notes
*Next up: Duke takes a break from ACC play with a home matchup Thursday against C-USA foe Tulsa (7:00, ESPN2).
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Tags: "virginia tech"
