National Basketball Association
Duke 60, Virginia Tech 56
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 9, 2012
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Officials:
# Bernard Clinton, # Mike Eades, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance:
19520
By SportsDirect Inc.
Duke 60 Virginia Tech 56: Freshman Austin Rivers scored 17 points, including a game-sealing three-point play in the final seconds, and the No. 6 Blue Devils held off the Hokies in an ACC tournament quarterfinal.
Mason Plumlee added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Blue Devils (27-5), who will play Florida State in Saturday's semifinals.
Duke moved closer to winning a fourth straight ACC tournament title without starting forward Ryan Kelly, who suffered a sprained foot in practice Tuesday and will be re-evaluated Monday.
The Blue Devils showed they are more than a one-dimensional team. The best 3-point shooting team in the ACC was only 5 of 26 from beyond the arc, yet led throughout the second half.
Tenth-seeded Virginia Tech (16-17) trailed by as many as 10 points before Erick Green hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 55-49 with 2:23 remaining.
Moments later, Robert Brown had a chance at a three-point play, but missed the free throw.
After Green missed a layup with less than 30 seconds left, Rivers chased down the rebound at the other end and completed a game-clinching three-point play. It was Rivers’ first field goal of the second half.
Green and Brown scored 16 points apiece for the Hokies, who lost nine games decided by five points or less this season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Green was only 1 of 7 in the first half, but the one shot he hit was a buzzer-beater. ... Duke missed 10 straight 3-pointers at one point.
Top Game Performances
Virginia Tech |
|
Duke |
Robert Brown 16 |
Scoring |
Austin Rivers 17 |
Jarell Eddie 2 |
Assists |
Seth Curry 5 |
Dorian Finney-Smith 12 |
Rebounds |
Mason Plumlee 10 |
Erick Green 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Austin Rivers 6 |
Robert Brown 1 |
Steals |
Tyler Thornton 3 |
N/A |
Blocks |
Mason Plumlee 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Virginia Tech
|
56 |
30.2 |
6-12 |
18-22 |
7 |
34 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
Duke
|
60 |
37.0 |
5-26 |
15-18 |
10 |
34 |
3 |
6 |
8 |