No. 3 Virginia Falls 81-71 to No. 2 Duke
Postgame Notes | Postgame Quotes | Boxscore
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 3 Virginia (20-2, 8-2 ACC) fell 81-71 to No. 2 Duke (21-2, 9-1 ACC) on Saturday evening at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia had three players in double-figures, led by juniors Kyle Guy (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Ty Jerome (New Rochelle, N.Y.) with 16 points each. De’Andre Hunter (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 11 points. Braxton Key (Charlotte, N.C.) had a season-high 10 rebounds.
UVA led in boards (28-25) and points in the paint (28-24). Duke had 17 fast break points and shot 58 percent from the field and 62 percent beyond the arc.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke opened the game on an 8-0 run before junior Mamadi Diakite (Conakry, Guinea, Africa) hit a jumper and senior Jack Salt (Auckland, New Zealand) added a layup. Diakite had seven of UVA’s first nine points. UVA trailed 36-24, but went on an 11-3 run to close the second half and trail 39-35 at the break. The Blue Devils controlled the second half, with UVA cutting into the lead but not able to get closer than five down the stretch.
NOTES
• UVA (20-2, 8-2 ACC) and Duke met for the second time as top-5 teams in 2018-19 and fourth time overall
• UVA trailed at the half (39-35) for the second time this season (at Duke)
• Guy has a 22-game 3-point streak
• Diakite extended his blocked shot streak to 15 games
• Jerome returned to the lineup after missing the Miami game with a back injury
QUOTES
On Virginia Needing to Play a Cleaner Game:
“I told our guys after [the game], for us to beat a team like Duke and the way they’re playing, we are going to have to play a cleaner game in a few areas. [Duke] was quicker to the ball, they are terrific athletes, strong-handed, they snatched some out of our hands, some loose turnovers that led to the breakaways and then a couple careless ones here and there. You can’t beat a team like Duke, especially when they are shooting at that clip, whether we were too long in the gaps or not, without playing a really sounder, cleaner game. But, when you look at it, Tre Jones makes them a different team, I knew that. He brings a level of toughness and ball-handling, sureness, touch in the paint, and then defensively, he’ll get after you. We had some chances to be in there but, not enough. My hat goes off to a team that played very well today.”
UP NEXT
Virginia will have a quick turnaround as it travels to No. 8 North Carolina on Monday, Feb. 11. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Smith Center.