Banchero Leads Duke Win Over GT

DURHAM – Freshman Paolo Banchero had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 2 Duke beat Georgia Tech 69-57 on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In their first game in 13 days, the Blue Devils (12-1, 2-0 ACC) showed some rust offensively and shot a season-low .373 (19-51) from the floor. Defensively, however, Duke held the Yellow Jackets (6-7, 0-3) to a .328 (21-64) shooting clip overall and just .300 (6-20) from three-point range.

The Blue Devils also held the edge on the glass, out-rebounding Georgia Tech 48-35. Sophomore Mark Williams brought down 14 boards and chipped in 10 points for his second double-double of the season, while he and Banchero blocked three shots apiece.

Michael Devoe led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points, including 18 in the second half as Tech trimmed a 15-point deficit down to six with 4:09 remaining. Duke came up with answers — namely a vicious slam from AJ Griffin, a contested three from fellow freshman Trevor Keels and multiple late free throws — to stay in front.

Griffin finished with 12 points, his fourth double-figure scoring output in the last five games, while Keels netted 10 with five rebounds.

Duke returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 8 when it hosts Miami at Cameron. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.