Hokies Fall Short in Comeback Against Duke (Video Included)

With their NCAA tournament chances resurrected after a hard-fought win at Clemson last week, the Virginia Tech Hokies returned home on Saturday to square off against the 7^th ranked Duke Blue Devils in front of a packed house at Cassell Coliseum.

After trailing by double-digits for most of the first half, the Hokies rallied in the second half to eventually tie-up the Blue Devils 58-58 on an A.D. Vassallo three-pointer with 5:59 left in the game.

Unfortunately for the Hokies, that was as close as they would get to the Blue Devils.  Over the final five minutes of play, Duke went on a 14-7 scoring run to seal up a 72-65 win over the Hokies.

"They showed a lot of character coming back," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.  "Vassallo was just tremendous."  

Despite that hot shooting late in the game, the first half proved to be a defensive struggle, as each team held the other to under 40 points, with Duke leading 36-25 at the break.

"We just couldn't make some of our shots early," Vassallo said.  "We have never been a hot starting team, but today we especially weren't."

Even with their low-scoring first half, the Blue Devils managed to shoot an astounding 53 percent from the field going into halftime.  In addition, Duke guard Gerald Henderson posted a blistering 17 points in the first half to lead all scorers.

On the other side, the Hokies shot an abysmal 36 percent for the half. To make matters worse, Tech struggled to find their usually efficient outside shooting, going just 1 of 6 for the half. 

Nevertheless, Tech's scrappy defense kept the Blue Devils within striking distance going into the locker room at halftime.

"I think we've grown up some defensively," said Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg.

As the second half got underway, the Hokies finally found an offensive rhythm when Jeff Allen converted on a three-point play on Tech's opening possession.

Tech's scoring barrage continued deep into the second half with some timely shooting by Vassallo. 

Trailing by eight points with 11:03 left in the game, Vassallo scored 15 consecutive points for the Hokies, his final three knotting the score with just under 6:00 left.

The Blue Devils were able to answer right back, however, with four consecutive free-throws after two reach-in fouls were called against Lewis Witcher and Dorenzo Hudson.

After an empty possession by the Hokies, Duke's Singler was able to free himself up for an easy layup and extend Duke's lead to 64-58 with only 1:23 remaining.

The Hokies were able to give Duke one last scare when Allen created a three point play followed by two clutch free throws from Vassallo that drew the score to 68-65 with :23 seconds left in the game.

With the shot clock no longer a factor, Tech was forced to foul in order to get the ball back with time left on the game clock. 

The Blue Devils showed exactly why they are a top-10 team, however, as both John Scheyer and Kyle Singler converted on all four of Duke's much-needed free throws to close out the Hokies for good.

"We won a hard-fought game," Krzyzewski said.  " They are playing really hard and well.  We knew this was going to be one of our really tough games."

After scoring just two points in the first half, Singler exploded for 19 points in the second half to help Duke hold off the surging Tech offense.

"Singler's second half was big," Krzyzewski said.  "He kept giving us a two or three possession game [during their comeback]."

If Hokie fans want to take anything positive away from Saturday's loss, it can be a glowing endorsement from the highly respected Duke coach. 

"I have the utmost respect for Virginia Tech and what they do," Krzyzewski said.  "Virginia Tech deserves to be in the tournament."

That is music to the ears of a Tech squad that many thought deserved to make the tournament last season.  To do that, however, Greenberg's Hokies have a tough final two games of the season against two top-25 teams, North Carolina and Florida State.

If the Hokies are hoping to make the tournament, they will in all likelihood need to win at least one of those two contests. 

Tech will get that chance on Wednesday when the North Carolina Tar Heels make their first trip to Blacksburg since losing in Cassell Coliseum two seasons ago as the number one team in the nation.

"We'll have a packed house here on Wednesday night," said Greenberg.  "They [the players] will be ready to go."

Tip-off for Wednesday's match-up against the Tar Heels is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPN.

 

 

Game Notes:

 

-       Hank Thorns missed Saturday's game with a bug.  Head Coach, Seth Greenberg, stated that Thorns spent several days at the hospital undergoing tests, but said Thorns should be back before the end of the season.

-       Virginia Tech never led at any point in the game.  Their largest deficit was 16 points late in the first half.

-       A.D. Vassallo led all scorers with 26 points, while Duke's Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler each added 21 points to lead the Blue Devils.

-       Virginia Tech out-rebounded Duke 39-28.

-       Wednesday Night's game against the Tar Heels will be senior night for the Hokies.  Both A.D. Vassallo and Cheick Diakite will be honored prior to the game.

Video by Ryan Call: