DURHAM, N.C. – Seth Curry scored 20 points in his final home game and No. 3 Duke pulled away to beat Virginia Tech 85-57 on Tuesday night.
Fellow senior Ryan Kelly added 18 points in his second straight strong performance since coming back from an injury for the Blue Devils (26-4, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
They shot nearly 52 percent yet struggled for a while before outscoring the Hokies 32-10 during the final 12-plus minutes to finish unbeaten at home for the 17th time in school history.
Erick Green scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting to lead Virginia Tech (13-17, 4-13), which hasn’t beaten a team in the upper half of the league standings all season.
But for much of the game, Green and the Hokies found a way to keep pace with Duke. Jarell Eddie’s jumper with 12 1/2 minutes left pulled Virginia Tech to 53-47.
But Kelly capped Duke’s next possession with an extraordinary effort to stick back a rebound after Tyler Thornton had a shot blocked. That started a game-ending run in which the Blue Devils scored on 15 of their final 16 possessions and included curtain calls for the three seniors – Curry, Mason Plumlee and Kelly.
No. 9 KANSAS STATE 79, TCU 68: In Manhattan, Kan., Angel Rodriguez had 21 points and 10 assists and Shane Southwell and Martavious Irving both added 15 points for the Wildcats (25-5, 14-3 Big East) on Senior Night.
No. 15 MARQUETTE 60, RUTGERS 54: In Piscataway, N.J., Jamil Wilson scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including the late three-pointer that put the Golden Eagles ahead for good.
Vander Blue had 22 points for Marquette (22-7, 13-4 Big East).
Myles Mack scored 11 points and Jerome Seagears added 10 for Rutgers (13-15, 4-13), which has lost five straight and 11 of 12.
IOWA 63, ILLINOIS 55: In Iowa City, Devyn Marble scored 21 points as the Hawkeyes (19-11, 8-9 Big Ten) chalked up their fifth win in seven games.
The Hawkeyes tied a school record with 12 blocked shots, including six from Gabe Olaseni off the bench.
Brandon Paul had 18 points to lead Illinois (21-10, 8-9).
BALL STATE 89, WESTERN MICHIGAN 85: In Kalamazoo, Mich., Jesse Berry came off the bench to score 28 points, including five three-pointers, and the Cardinals (14-14, 7-8 Mid-American) held off a late charge by the Broncos (18-11, 9-6).
Shayne Whittington had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Broncos, who failed to clinch their sixth MAC West Division title.
Related
