Without Allen, Hokies Can't Keep Up With Duke

Duke 81, Virginia Tech 64

BLACKSBURG, Va., Jan. 24 -- Deron Washington assumed a typical role Thursday evening, explaining a facet of Virginia Tech basketball to his freshman teammates. He preached that the Hokies always play well against Duke, and that they could again, even without forward Jeff Allen, if they played a complete 40-minute game.

"We played maybe 30," Washington said.

After Virginia Tech made Duke sweat Thursday night for a few, hopeful moments, the Blue Devils, as expected, proved too strong defensively, too balanced offensively and too talented overall in an 81-64 victory at Cassell Coliseum. In a heated and physical game, six Blue Devils scored at least eight points as Duke remained the lone unbeaten team in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Hokies dropped below .500 in league games.

Virginia Tech (11-8, 2-3) trailed by just one point after A.D. Vassallo connected on a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half. The Hokies wouldn't sniff the lead again, allowing fourth-ranked Duke to control the pace and, at times, playing too recklessly.

"You're not going to win a game like tonight if you're not tougher, a little bit more poised," Hokies Coach Seth Greenberg said. "I thought they knocked us back in the second half. And we did not respond."

Virginia Tech had beaten Duke twice in their previous four games, with one loss coming only after a miracle half-court shot at the buzzer. Greenberg, clearly, had discovered something about Duke that eluded much of the rest of the ACC.

But that wasn't supposed to mean anything Thursday, with Allen, perhaps Virginia Tech's best player, watching from the stands in a teal polo shirt, serving the first half of a two-game suspension for pushing a referee.

And so Duke (16-1, 4-0) grabbed a 21-10 lead in the first 10 minutes, harassing Virginia Tech into nine early turnovers and launching three-pointers from eye-popping distances. But the Hokies, despite playing four freshmen at one point, crawled back. Rather than relenting to Duke's hands-on defense, they matched it -- officials called 24 fouls in the first half, and it probably could have been double that.

"The first half, we hit them back, and they didn't know what to do," point guard Hank Thorns said. "That surprised them, us being such a young group."

Vassallo started driving past Duke's pressure and floating in points. Gradually, Duke's lead shrunk to eight points, then six, then three. The crowd roared, the band played and Coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout with 1 minute 25 seconds left in the half.

The timeout couldn't quell Virginia Tech's momentum. When J.T. Thompson, Allen's replacement in the starting lineup, thundered down a two-hand dunk, Virginia Tech had crept within one and Cassell Coliseum erupted. Taylor King responded with a deep three-pointer, but the Hokies had sent a message.

"We don't back down from nobody," Thorns said.

In the second half, Virginia Tech may have become too preoccupied by proving it as the game grew feisty. Officials called 49 fouls. Two Hokies, point guard Malcolm Delaney and forward Deron Washington, fouled out. Washington drew an intentional foul for tripping Kyle Singler, and DeMarcus Nelson drew a technical as his fifth and final foul for yelling at Washington.

"They were a little frisky," Greenberg said.

Though the Hokies didn't back down from Duke's hands-on play, they did let it affect their play, and "that's the difference between playing hard and competing," Greenberg said. In categories where focus matters most, Tech faltered: After committing one turnover in the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Hokies committed 12 in the second. They made only 7 of 14 free throws after intermission.

"We were too careless with the ball," Thompson said.

"In the second half, they hit us and we should have kept fighting," Thorns said. "It should have been a closer game."

One reason it ended as close as it did was Thompson, who used the starting opportunity to stage his breakout game. He became a presence in the post, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Still, it was not enough. Last season, Virginia Tech escaped Cameron Indoor Stadium with a thrilling overtime victory, a win sealed when Washington blocked a last-second shot. On Thursday, Washington watched the meaningless final seconds tick off from the bench, the magic of last season fading away.

"The whole second half was pretty frustrating to me," Washington. "And to some of my other teammates, too."