February 26, 2015
Hudson's career night not enough, as Hokies fall in overtime to No. 4 Duke
By Jimmy Robertson
12OTF
(4) Duke (25-3, 12-3) 37401491
Virginia Tech (10-18, 2-13) 3938986
  • Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Va. - 9,847
  • High Points: 23 - Jalen Hudson
  • High Rebounds: 6 - Jalen Hudson

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech got a career-high 23 points from Jalen Hudson and took the No. 4-ranked team in the country to overtime, but Duke scored on eight of nine possessions in the extra period and beat the Hokies 91-86 in an ACC game played Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum.

With the loss, the Hokies dropped to 10-18 overall, 2-13 in ACC play. Duke moved to 25-3 overall, 12-3 in league play.

“We knew we were going to get a game like that from Virginia Tech,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They’ve been so good at home. They probably should have had two or three more wins at home. They had Virginia beat. We knew. It wasn’t like we overlooked the game. We knew.

“They’re well schooled in everything they do. Obviously, he [Buzz Williams] is an outstanding coach. We knew their kids would be unbelievably ready to play, and we’re fortunate to have won.”

Virginia Tech led by as many as eight points in the second half, but the Blue Devils rallied. They took a 77-75 lead on a basket by Justice Winslow with 1:04 remaining, but Virginia Tech’s Justin Bibbs tied the game on a basket with 49 seconds to go.

Duke’s Jahlil Okafor missed two free throws with 21.3 seconds left, giving the Hokies an opportunity to win. But Hudson missed a contested shot in the paint in the waning moments, and the game went into overtime.

“I thought it was the best look we could have gotten,” Hudson said. “It was a great play drawn up by Buzz. I felt like I got fouled, but we’re not going to get that call at the end of the game. I’ve just got to finish it.”

The Hokies got a 3-pointer from Ahmed Hill with 3:48 on the clock to take a one-point lead, but they didn’t hit another field goal. Duke controlled the action from that point on, scoring on seven of its final eight possessions.

Quinn Cook scored seven of his 26 points in overtime to lead the way for the Blue Devils, and he hit six 3-pointers. Okafor finished with a career-high 30 points, hitting 13 of 18 from the floor. Duke shot 59.3 percent for the game.

“We couldn’t guard him,” Tech coach Buzz Williams said of Okafor. “He scored 30 points in 37 minutes. He’s pretty good.”

Hudson hit 9 of 20 from the floor, including three of the Hokies’ 12 3-pointers. Tech tied a season high with the 12 3-pointers.

“I was just driving hard and playing as hard as I can, like Buzz is telling me to,” said Hudson, who played one minute in the Hokies’ loss at NC State last Saturday. “Things started opening up for me. I was just playing hard and shots started falling for me. There were no tricks, no magic pills.”

Adam Smith added 15 points for Tech, while Hill scored 11 points and both Devin Wilson and Justin Bibbs finished with 10 each. Wilson tied a career high with 11 assists.

Virginia Tech shot 53.4 percent from the floor, marking just the second time in ACC play that the Hokies have shot better than 50 percent. Tech scored on 16 of its final 18 possessions of the first half and made 16 of its 23 shots in the first half – a blistering 69.6 percent.

The Hokies will face another top-five team in their next outing, as they travel to Charlottesville to play No. 2 Virginia on Saturday. Tipoff time is slated for 4 p.m.

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