Field Level Media
Feb 20, 2021
Duke held No. 7 Virginia scoreless for the final three minutes and pulled out a 66-65 Atlantic Coast Conference victory at home Saturday night in Durham, N.C.
Matthew Hurt scored 22 points for the Blue Devils, Jeremy Roach had 12 points and Jaemyn Brakefield added 11 points as the Blue Devils (10-8, 8-6 ACC) won their third game in a row.
Leading by a point, Duke's DJ Steward missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 10 seconds to play, but Virginia's Kihei Clark was off the mark on a potential winning 3-point shot.
Virginia (15-5, 11-3), which had been alone in first place, lost for the second time this week on the road, also falling to No. 16 Florida State.
Jay Huff's 20 points, Sam Hauser's 19 points and Clark's 15 points paced Virginia.
After two Huff free throws with 3:10 remaining, the Cavaliers missed their final five shots from the field.
Steward and Brakefield scored back-to-back baskets to push Duke to a 66-65 lead with 1:59 to play.
The second-half margin was never greater than a four-point edge by Virginia until the Cavaliers led 56-51 with less than seven minutes to play after a Clark three-point play.
The score was tied seven times down the stretch, the last time at 60-all with 4:20 remaining before a 3-pointer by Clark followed by Hurt's jumper.
Huff, playing in his hometown, had a game-high 12 rebounds in the only scheduled meeting between the teams this season.
Four of Duke's first five baskets were 3-pointers, but Virginia led 15-14 at the time. The Cavaliers opened 9 of 11 from the field, yet led by only three points.
A 9-0 run for the Blue Devils - with all the points by Brakefield -- put them in front late in the first half. Duke led 39-36 at halftime, with half of its 14 field goals coming from beyond the 3-point arc. The Blue Devils had 12 points off seven Virginia turnovers by the break. Hurt and Hauser both had 12 points.
Virginia played without guard Tomas Woldetensae, who was reportedly out due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
--Field Level Media