BLACKSBURG — Jeremy Roach scored 16 points off the bench in his return to his home state, leading the Reds to a 77-67 victory over Virginia Tech on Monday night.
Roach, who has been dealing with recent knee and ankle injuries, made 5 of 11 shots from the floor and made 4 3-pointers for the Blue Devils (16-4, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). I decided on a book. The Blue Devils have won 11 of 12 games and three straight. .
“I thought our team had great cohesion,” coach John Scheyer said. “We hit some RBI 3s and some guys stepped up in key moments. … I'm proud of this win. We had a chance to play two games in three days (on Saturday) (Duke beat Clemson), and it would be really great to win both of them. I'm looking forward to building from here.”
MJ Collins scored 17 points against the Hokies (13-8, 5-5). Virginia Tech's winning streak ended at three.
Duke took a 12-0 lead in the first half and never relinquished it. The Hokies cut the halftime deficit, 35-29, to three points three times in the second half, capped by a Hunter Kattore 3-pointer with 14:07 remaining.
However, the Blue Devils gradually pulled away, shooting 59.3% (16 of 27) in the final 20 minutes. For Duke, Kyle Filipowski added 14 points and Tyrese Proctor finished with 12 points to complement Roach, a Leesburg native who starred in Paul VI's high school.
Kattoa scored 15 points for the Hokies. Sean Pedula and Lynn Kidd each had 12 points.
“We made some shots, but we wasted some opportunities,” coach Mike Young said. “But I have the utmost respect for their team, their players and John on this special night. They had a good plan. They did a good job. It Nothing more.”
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Duke: The Blue Devils played like a top-10 team, dominating in shooting percentage (55.4% from the field) and rebounding (38-20), handing Virginia Tech their second home loss of the season. . Duke has lost in five of its past six visits to Cassel Coliseum.
“It’s a tremendous amount of respect for Virginia Tech and a tremendous amount of respect for the environment here,” Scheyer said. “You come to Duke to play in an environment like this, and these guys were ready to play. They did a great job of focusing on what they can control so the crowd could A lot of times you get worried. You can worry about what people are saying, but for our team, they were just focused on the game and the job that we have to do.”
Virginia Tech: The Hokies squandered a golden opportunity to improve their NCAA Tournament performance. The NET rankings are hovering around his mid-40s, and he has only one AP Top 25 opponent left on the schedule at this point (a visit to No. 3 North Carolina), and time and opportunity are at stake. is running out and may need help from others. Strive to the end to secure the overall bid.
“Our team had a tough night,” Young said. “There are better days ahead.”
rebound
Roach, a senior captain, scored five points on 1-of-8 shooting in the Blue Devils' 72-71 win over Clemson on Saturday. He came off the bench for the second straight game, mainly because he hadn't practiced, and he made a season-high four 3-pointers against the Hokies.
“I still think he wasn't completely himself tonight,” Scheier said. “He needs a week of practice to get back into his flow. The 3s were great. He had some big moments. He really gave us a lot this year. He needs practice time and I think just being out here tonight tells you a lot about him.”
Next
Duke: North Carolina will play Game 3 on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Virginia Tech: They play Miami at noon Saturday on ESPN.
