Duke surges past Virginia for sixth consecutive win
Duke surges past Virginia for sixth consecutive win:- Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half and No. 14 Duke pulled away late to beat No. 15 Virginia, 65-55, on Wednesday night, the surging Blue Devils' sixth victory in a row.
Tatum hit three three-pointers as the shot clock approached 0:00 in the second half, all coming after the Cavaliers pulled within 43-42.
Luke Kennard added 16 points for the Blue Devils (21-5, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are now tied for second in the league with Florida State and Louisville. All three are a game behind No. 9 North Carolina.
London Perrantes scored 14 points to lead Virginia (18-7, 8-5) and Ty Jerome had 13.
Virginia trailed 43-37 before Perrantes made two free throws and Kyle Guy had a three-pointer, making it 43-42 with 8:33 remaining. But Tatum hit the first of his three clock-beating three-pointers, Kennard scored in the lane and two more threes for Tatum put Duke ahead 54-44.
Big picture
Duke: Other than exceptional three-point field goal defense, the Blue Devils aren't known much for their ability to stop others, but they have the pieces to make things very tough. Virginia often had trouble getting inside, and once there, navigating around the Blue Devils big men.
Virginia: The Cavaliers' lack of a reliable inside scorer hurts more some nights than others, and even more so when attempts to feed the ball inside often result in turnovers. Effective outside shooting often opens up the inside, but Virginia shot poorly against the Blue Devils (21 of 57, 36.8 percent).
Up next
Duke is at home against Wake Forest on Saturday.
Virginia travels to Chapel Hill to face No. 10 North Carolina on Saturday night.
Source:- http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2017/02/15/tatum-leads-no-12-duke-past-no-14-virginia-65-55/97980276/
