Cameron Boozer totaled 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, as No. 4 Duke never trailed and extended its winning streak to nine games with a 72-58 victory over host Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va.
Duke (20-1, 9-0 ACC) earned its fifth straight double-digit victory by leading as many as 16 and fending off a few comeback tries late in the first half and in the second half.
Boozer made 9-of-12 shots, hit a pair of 3-pointers and notched his 13th 20-point game of his freshman season to help Duke win its 19th straight ACC game.
Maliq Brown came off the bench and added 11 on 5-of-10 shooting, while Isaiah Evans also finished with 11. Caleb Foster, who was feeling under the weather, came off the bench and was held to seven points.
The Blue Devils shot 52.5 percent and scored 46 points in the paint to offset a 5-of-21 showing from 3-point range.
Amani Hansberry led the Hokies (16-7, 5-5) with 20 points. He made 8-of-13 shooting and withstood a collision in the paint after getting fouled by Brown with about five minutes left in the first half.
Jailen Bedford added 12, and Ben Hammond was held to 11. The duo combined to miss nine of 10 3-point tries. Virginia Tech shot 7-of-26 from behind the arc and 41.8 percent overall.
Duke ripped off an 11-2 run, as Darren Harris dunked for a 22-11 lead with 8:57 left in the first half. Cameron Boozer’s one-handed slam opened a 26-13 cushion a little over a minute later. The Blue Devils made eight straight shots and took a 33-18 lead on a jumper by Cameron Boozer with 5:35 left and settled for a 40-31 lead advantage by halftime after Virginia Tech made its final five shots.
Virginia Tech inched within 42-36 on a layup by Hansberry a little over three minutes into the second half, and Duke gradually regained control, taking a 55-42 lead on a putback by Cameron Boozer with 12:57 left. Virginia Tech kept hanging around and cut the deficit to 62-56 on Bedford’s mid-range jumper with 6:10 left, but Duke took a 13-point lead on 3 by Cameron Boozer with 90 seconds left.
