Struggling most of the season, Duke secured the signature win it's lacked to show its season may not be sunk just yet.
No. 7 Virginia missed three shots in the final 37 seconds, including Kihei Clark’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and Duke escaped with a 66-65 win over the Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It’s the first win over a ranked team this season for Duke (10-8, 8-6 ACC), which has won three games in a row since dropping below .500 for the first time since 1999.
Matthew Hurt scored 22 points to lead Duke while Jeremy Roach scored 12 and Jaemyn Brakefield 11.
Jay Huff scored 20 points and Sam Houser 19 for Virginia (15-5, 11-3 ACC)
In a nip-and-tuck game, Virginia took its largest lead of the second half at 56-51 with 6:51 to play when Clark scored and added a free throw.
Duke immediately responded with a Wendell Moore basket. Jordan Goldwire’s steal led to a DJ Steward 3-pointer that tied the game at 56 with 5:49 to play.
The Cavaliers broke a 60-60 tie when Clark drilled a 3-pointer with 3:48 to play putting Virginia up 63-60.
Hurt scored a basket for Duke but Huff countered with two free throws for a 65-62 Cavaliers lead.
With 2:41 left, Steward hit a jumper pulling Duke within a point.
That’s when Brakefield made plays on both ends to put the Blue Devils in front.
With 2:21 to play, Clark drove toward the basket but Brakefield blocked his layup attempt. At the other end, with 1:59 to play, Brakefield drove past Huff to score a reverse layup giving Duke a 66-65 lead.
Virginia had two shots to tie the game on its penultimate possession. Houser missed a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left but Huff grabbed the offensive rebound. Clark missed a jumper with 14 seconds left and the scramble for the rebound resulted in a held ball. Duke had the possession arrow.
Steward missed the front end of a 1-and-bonus with nine seconds left, giving Virginia a chance to win. But Clark missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
