Field Level Media
Jan 8, 2020
Tre Jones made a couple of clutch baskets in the late going as second-ranked Duke pulled out a 73-64 victory against host Georgia Tech on Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
Jones ended up with eight of his 16 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes, and Cassius Stanley and Vernon Carey Jr. scored 14 apiece as the Blue Devils won for the third time in an Atlantic Coast Conference road game. Matthew Hurt added 11 points.
Duke (14-1, 4-0 ACC) has an eight-game winning streak, though this was the first of those outcomes decided by less than a dozen points. The Blue Devils entered the game leading the country with a plus-21.7 scoring margin.
Georgia Tech (7-8, 2-3) went cold down the stretch, including when it had an attempt to take the lead in the final three minutes. The Yellow Jackets, who were coming off a victory at North Carolina, didn't score in the final 3:10.
Jones made a tie-breaking jumper with 4:17 to play, and the Blue Devils led the rest of the way. Another Jones basket made it 68-64 at the 2:23 mark and he tacked on three free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Jose Alvarado paced Georgia Tech with 18 points. James Banks III provided 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Moses Wright and Michael Devoe each scored 12 points.
Duke shot 51.9 percent from the field, but only 11-for-21 on free throws.
Georgia Tech went up 51-50 with 12:12 to play, making its first four 3-point attempts of the second half thanks to Bubba Parham and Devoe.
Duke led 40-29 at halftime, boosted by 53.1-percent shooting from the field and Carey's nine points.
Georgia Tech was 1-for-7 on first-half 3-point attempts. By halftime, other than Banks and Wright, the rest of the Yellow Jackets were 4-for-17 from the field.
By game's end, Georgia Tech held a 39-30 rebounding advantage. Wright had 10 boards.
Duke has won 13 in a row against Georgia Tech.
--Field Level Media