Jon Scheyer, Kyle Filipowski react to throat punch by Virginia Tech player

Virginia Tech took down Duke on Tuesday night but not without some controversy in the final seconds. Blue Devils freshman star Kyle Filipowski took a shot in the throat area from MJ Collins, who had just hit what wound up being the game-winning shot. A painful moment for Filipowski and even for those watching back on the replay.

Filipowski never went down but, as any normal person would be, was in pain after being punched in the throat. He only needed a few moments to recover though, getting his breathing back under control and even throwing up on the sideline.

“Yeah, he just elbowed me right in my Adam’s apple,” Filipowski said. “I couldn’t breathe for a minute, but I just needed to throw up and I was good.”

All of this occurred while the officials were checking to see if any further action needed to be taken on Collins. After everything was ruled an incidental contact, Duke still needed to draw a play up and attempt to tie the game up. While they were unsuccessful, Filipowski made sure he was on the court.

“He was full-on throwing up and he wasn’t about to be out for a second,” head coach Jon Scheyer said. “He’s a big-time warrior, man.”

Duke wound up losing by three, with Tyrese Proctor‘s three-pointer coming up short in the final seconds. Virginia Tech only made one of two free throws but the following Blue Devils’ possession results in a turnover and ended a seven-game losing streak in Blacksburg.

Throat punch or no throat punch, Filipowski was dominant from start to finish for Duke. He finished with a double-double, going for 24 points and 10 rebounds. Thankfully, no further injury came from the incident and he will be ready to go on Saturday as a trip to face off against Georgia Tech is next up on the schedule.

Seth Greenberg calls out officials over Kyle Filipowski throat punch

Following the conclusion of Duke-Virginia Tech, ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg, who spent time as the Hokies’ head coach, called out the officials for the situation. He thinks Collins should have been called for something due to there being contact above the shoulders.

“At the end of this play, you see Michael Collins celebrating,” Greenberg said. “By accident, he catches Filipowski in his throat. There does not have to be intent to be a flagrant one. Obviously, that’s not incidental contact; there’s no intent. But that is contact above the shoulders. That is a flagrant one.

“This is not a hard call. I’ll tell you, when you see this play, there was no intent right there. There was a young guy that just made a big play a freshman, and he’s celebrating.”