DURHAM, N.C. — No. 2 Duke displayed versatility to spawn a comeback win in its ACC opener Wednesday night.
Trailing Virginia Tech by as many as eight points early in the second half, Blue Devils’ switch to a smaller lineup ignited a surge that led them to a 76-65 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Paolo Banchero scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as the smaller lineup gave the rangy 6-10 freshman forward more space to maneuver. Junior forward Wendell Moore was steady once again for Duke, scoring 18 points.
Notably, freshman AJ Griffin scored 13 points -- 10 in the second half -- off the bench for the Blue Devils (11-1, 1-0 ACC). Trevor Keels also scored 13 points for Duke.
The Hokies (8-5, 0-2 ACC) led 36-32 at halftime and by as many as eight points in the early stages of the second half, causing Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to put the 6-10 Banchero in a post role rather than using 7-1 sophomore Mark Williams or 6-9 senior Theo John down low.
The Blue Devils mostly went with four shooters around Banchero -- Moore, Griffin, Keels and Jeremy Roach, -- to counter Virginia Tech’s quickness.
The move sparked a 13-0 Blue Devils run that flipped the game, erasing Virginia Tech’s 42-34 lead. Duke shot 61.5% in the second half.
Banchero scored the first seven points of the run, hitting two tough baskets inside before stepping out to drill a 3-pointer.
While the Hokies were in the midst of missing seven consecutive shots and going scoreless for 5:30, Banchero zipped a pass from the free throw line to Trevor Keels, who sank a layup to give Duke its first second-half lead at 43-42.
Then Moore took over, hitting a layup in transition and firing a pass under the basket to Griffin for a slam dunk that gave Duke a 47-42 lead.
The Hokies drought finally ended on a Hunter Cattor 3-pointer, but Duke’s Joey Baker scored inside, drew a foul and added a free throw for a 50-45 Blue Devils lead with 12:08 to play.
After Griffin was fouled while hitting a layup, he added a free throw with 9:58 left giving Duke a 57-49 lead.
Moore added a basket on a drive, then Banchero executed a nifty up and under move to score around Aluma and put Duke up 61-49 with 8:40 left.
At that point, Duke had made 12 of 16 shots from the field to start the second half to take control. The Hokies never drew closer than seven points the rest of the game.
The second-half surge was far different than the first half when Banchero struggled, hitting only 3 of 9 shots while committing three of Duke’s four turnovers, as the Hokies took a 36-32 halftime lead. It was the first time this season the Blue Devils trailed at halftime.
The Blue Devils started the game red hot on offense, scoring 13 points on their first five possessions while making three of four 3-pointers. But Duke failed to hit another 3-pointer the rest of the half.
Virginia Tech scored nine points in a row to tie the game at 13 and Duke never led by more than four points the remainder of the half.
While Duke struggled on offense, shooting 46% in the first half, Virginia Tech senior forward Keve Aluma scored 17 points in the first half for the Hokies.
Aluma finished with 25 points
A little help on the bench
After beating Elon, 87-56, on Saturday with two assistant coaches missing, Duke added one back for the Virginia Tech game.
Chris Carrawell, who missed all three games last week while recovering from knee replacement surgery, returned to the Blue Devils bench for the first time since the Blue Devils’ 71-66 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 30.
Duke remained without assistant coach Nolan Smith, who entered health and safety protocols last Friday. Amile Jefferson, hired as director of player development earlier this year, was temporarily elevated to an assistant coach role to help fill in the gaps.
Time for a break
After playing four games over the last nine days, Duke disperses for a holiday break. The Blue Devils next play Dec. 29 at Clemson, followed by another ACC road game on Jan. 1 against Notre Dame.
Duke’s next home game is Jan. 4 against Georgia Tech.
