Freshman sensations power Blue Devils to big win
By THOMAS HOWLETT
On New Year’s Eve the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team traveled to Cameron Indoor where they fell to the fourth ranked Duke Blue Devils 88-62.
The two star freshman Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel combined for 37 points while leading Duke to their third conference victory.
“He’s terrific. He’s a really good basketball player, great skills, floor it, pass it, makes the right basketball plays,” said Virginia Tech Head Coach Mike Young about Cooper Flagg. “He’s got about three months left and he’s going to go on and he’s going to do very well for himself.”
Even though the game ended in a blowout loss, it seemed as if the Hokies were going to keep the game close as Rodney Brown Jr. hit back-to-back shots to put the Hokies up 14-12 with 10:45 left in the first half.
With a 16-14 lead over Duke, Flagg would get fouled by Mylyjael Poteat while attempting a three pointer, which somehow found the bottom of the net. Flagg’s free throw awarded him the rare four-point play that swung the momentum heavily in Duke’s direction.
From that point on the Hokies cooled off struggling to buy a basket while the Blue Devils were firing with Knueppel, Isaiah Evans, and Mason Gillis making some tough threes.
The Duke onslaught at the end of the half gave them a 37-27 lead at the break.
Duke continued to extend the lead with Sion James getting some tough shots to fall early in the half, but Tobi Lawal was able to pull Virginia Tech back within nine at the 12:55 mark.
Even with Lawal’s efforts Duke was able to pull away again with Tyrese Proctor and Isaiah Evans going back-to-back from way downtown.
The Hokies were never able to muster up another run as the Blue Devils ran away with the game and never looked back.
Lawal led the Hokies with 19 points on the night and Patrick Wessler contributed 10 points of his own off of the bench. Lawal led the team in rebounds amassing 5 boards.
As a team Virginia Tech shot 23-50 from the floor, 8-21 from three, and 11-15 from the foul line. The Hokies grabbed 22 rebounds, tallied 14 assists, and committed 12 turnovers.
For the Blue Devils, Flagg led the way with 24 points, followed by Knueppel and Proctor who each had 13 points. Off of the bench Evans contributed 12 points while James and Gillis each pitched in with 10 points.
As a team Duke shot 31-58 from the floor, 11-29 from three, and 15-15 from the charity stripe. The Blue Devils grabbed 35 rebounds, tallied 19 assists, and committed 9 turnovers.
“This is the best Duke team I’ve seen in a bit, in my humble opinion,” said Coach Young. “I think the best defensive team I’ve seen in my six years in the league.”
Virginia Tech will play the Miami Hurricanes in Cassell Coliseum on January 4th, in their third Atlantic Coast Conference game.