Virginia Tech No Match for No. 6 Duke

A slow start from the Hokies and hot shooting early from Duke gave the Blue devils a lead they would never relinquish in a 66-48 win Tuesday night in Durham.

Rodney Hood led the way with 21 points while Rasheed Sulaimon added 15. Freshman standout Jabari Parker finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (23-6, 12-4 ACC).

Freshman big man Trevor Thompson led the Hokies (9-18, 2-13 ACC) with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and a block.

Jarell Eddie chipped in 9 points and 7 rebounds while Joey Van Zegeren put up 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Duke came out aggressive on defense with full court pressure giving the Hokies fits bringing the ball up court. In the half court, the Blue Devils denied Devin Wilson the ball making it impossible for Tech to run an offense early on. Wilson was held to just 7 points and 4 assists but 6 turnovers.

After Duke raced out to a 24-4 lead, the Hokies fought back with a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 10 before trailing 32-20 at halftime.

Tech crept back to make the score 37-29 with 16:07 remaining in the second half before a quick 5-0 burst put Duke back in control.

The Hokies hung tough but an 8 minute stretch without a field goal during the final 10 minutes sealed Tech's fate.

Virginia Tech returns to action Saturday when they host No. 19 North Carolina at 2:30 in Cassell Coliseum.