CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. _ It took a man-sized performance from No. 12 Duke's youngest starter to take down No. 14 Virginia on Wednesday night.
Against Virginia's fierce defense, freshman Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half leading Duke to a 65-55 ACC basketball win at John Paul Jones Arena.
With scouts from eight NBA teams in attendance, the 6-foot-8 Tatum put on a shooting show as Duke (21-5, 9-4) erased a four-point halftime deficit to claim its sixth consecutive win.
On the way to his season-high in points, Tatum hit 7 of his 10 shots from the field in the second half, including making five of six 3-pointers. His shooting was a big reason why the Blue Devils shot 57.1 percent over the final 20 minutes.
Luke Kennard added 15 points for the Blue Devils as he made eight of nine free throws in the second half.
Virginia (18-7, 8-5) shot a season-low 36.8 percent to suffer its second league loss of the week. The Cavaliers lost 80-78 in double-overtime at Virginia Tech on Sunday night.
Duke made its first five shots after halftime and 8 of 12 overall to lead 43-37 with 10:40 to play. Tatum led the charge, scoring 10 points over the first 10 minutes of the half.
But when Duke missed its next five shots, Virginia made a push. Two London Perrantes free throws and a Kyle Guy 3-pointer cut Duke's lead to 43-42.
Tatum, of course, ended that Duke drought by nailing a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, giving Duke a 46-42 lead with 6:12 to play.
Duke's lead was 48-44 when Tatum sealed the win. Perrantes missed a jumper and Tatum grabbed the defensive rebound.
On the other end of the court, with the shot clock running down, Tatum sank a 3-pointer for a 51-44 Duke lead at 2:45.
Tatum rebounded another Cavaliers miss and, once again, drilled a 3-pointer. This one, with 1:55 left, gave Duke a 54-44 lead and caused Tatum to dance and strut back up the court as Virginia called a timeout.
After trailing 25-21 following a lackluster first half, Duke made its first five shots after the break to build a modest 33-29 lead.
Duke senior forward Amile Jefferson picked up his fourth foul with 15:35 left and headed to the bench. But freshman big man Harry Giles stepped in nicely, stealing passes to end two Virginia possessions.
After one of those steals, Kennard sank a turn-around, fade-away shot in the lane to give the Blue Devils a 37-32 lead with 12:52 to play.
Both teams were offensively challenged in the first half as Duke shot 33 percent and Virginia a frigid 32.1 percent.
Duke made just one of its first eight shots from the field and Virginia built an early 9-2 lead.
Krzyzewski inserted Frank Jackson and Harry Giles in the lineup and the freshmen sparked a 10-0 Blue Devils run.
Three-pointers by Kennard and Allen started the spurt and Giles scored inside over Virginia's Jarred Reuter to put Duke in front. Jefferson returned to the court and scored on a nifty move in the paint for a 12-9 Duke lead.
Perrantes ended Virginia's scoring drought of 5:34 with a 3-pointer to tie the game.
Tatum sank a 3-pointer and Giles slammed home two more for a 17-14 Duke lead with 8:20 to play. The Blue Devils had made six of their last seven field goals at that point.
But just as quickly as Duke broke out of its offensive funk, the Blue Devils fell back into it. That Giles dunk was Duke's final made field goal of the first half. The Blue Devils scored just twice on their final 12 possessions of the half, with Tatum's four free throws accounting for all the points.
Duke turned the ball over four times in its final six possessions of the half and Virginia scored the final seven points to take a 25-21 lead.
