Roach & Lively Have Career Nights As Duke Routs Virginia Tech

DURHAM, NC — Duke guard Jeremy Roach scored 19 points and dished off a career-high 10 assists as the Blue Devils defeated Virginia Tech 81-65 late on Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Roach found freshman big man Dereck Lively II for his tenth assist to set his own career-high while on the find, Lively II set a career-high in points with 13. The Philadelphia native shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field on his career night while also grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots.

Virginia Tech (16-13, 6-12 ACC) edged Duke out down the stretch in their previous meeting back on Jan. 23 — a game in which Roach missed while out with a toe injury. The Blue Devils have now won four of their last five games and improved to 15-0 at home this season in the victory.

“I feel like we’re finally just putting things together for the most part,” Lively II told me after the game. “The right things are falling in place and people are really putting in the work. That’s all I can ask of my teammates. I know for a fact each and every person here is doing whatever they can to contribute to a win.”

Duke (21-8, 12-6 ACC) jumped out to a 19-5 lead in the first seven minutes of action following a 17-2 run for three minutes. In that span, Blue Devils held the Hokies to shoot just 1 for 9 and scored 14 points at the rim. Virginia Tech would respond to that run by making six of their next eight shots to bring the game within nine and ultimately would trail by 11 at halftime.

Out of the halftime break, Duke sparked a 16-0 run to give them their largest lead of the game at 25 points, blowing the doors open for any chance the Hokies had of coming back. Freshman Mark Mitchell led the charge for the Blue Devils in the second half, finishing the night with 17 points and eight rebounds.

“I think I was out there just taking advantage of things that their defense was giving me,” Mitchell said after the game. “I feel like I did a good job taking my time and finding the gaps in the defense to attack, while also playing hard on the other end. I just had to lock in and be aware of who my defensive assignment was each time down the floor.”

Duke returns to action on Tuesday when they take on NC State at home at 7 PM ET live on ESPN.