Grayson Allen Has 25, No. 12 Duke Puts Away Virginia Tech, 74-52

DURHAM, N.C., Sporting Alert — Grayson Allen scored 25 points and led four Duke starters in double-digit scoring and the No. 12 Blue Devils cruised to a 74-52 victory over Virginia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night.

Allen, who hit 9 of 17 shots from the field, including seven 3-pointers, scored 14 first-half points, while he also had six assists in the game for Duke, which was again without Marvin Bagley III, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading scorer and rebounder, due to a mild right knee sprain.

“It [the shots] felt good,” Allen said. “A few of them I knew they weren’t going in as soon as they left my hand. But the rest, I wasn’t thinking about anything, just looking at the bottom of the net.”

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke about the way things have changed for Allen over the last two games.

“With the ball in his hands, he can make plays and he can call plays,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s more in command, so these last two games, that’s a big change for us.”

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Gary Trent Jr. added 19 points with five 3-pointers to go along with five rebounds, while Wendell Carter Jr. finished with a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, along with four assists and two blocks for the Blue Devils (21-5, 9-4 ACC), who won two straight.

“They take away the middle, they take away the lane,” Krzyzewski said. “So we told Gary and Grayson: `Just shoot. You’re going to get shots. And don’t worry about it.”

• Allen Scores 23, No. 9 Duke Beats Georgia Tech 80-69 Without Bagley III

Trevon Duval, back in the starting five after losing his spot in the last game, ended with 10 points for Duke.

Justin Bibbs paced Virginia Tech with 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting with three 3-pointers.

But the Hokies only got five points and five assists in 27 minutes from lead scorer Justin Robinson, who is averaging 13.8 points per game this season.

Robinson shot 2-of-10 and was limited by foul trouble.

Duke led 36-28 at halftime and then used a 13-2 run over 5:52 to increase the lead to 25 points in the second half.

At the same time, Virginia Tech (18-8, 7-6) went through a scoring drought for 4:54 and the game slipped away.

NEXT TIME OUT

The Duke Blue Devils will visit No. 11 Clemson on Sunday in a key matchup in the race for a top-two finish in the ACC behind the nation’s No. 1 Virginia.

The Virginia Tech Hokies will stay on the road to closeout a three-game road trip Saturday at Georgia Tech.