Tyrese Proctor credits defense in 77-67 win over Virginia Tech

Duke held Virginia Tech to 27 percent from beyond the arc as the Blue Devils cruised to a 77-67 win over the Hokies on the road on Monday.

Despite losing five of the last six games inside Cassell Coliseum dating back to 2016, the Blue Devils never trailed in the second half. Sophomore Tyrese Proctor scored 12 points and contributed five assists during the Duke victory, and explained what the Blue Devils did to change their narrative in Blacksburg.

“I thought we just defended really well,” Proctor said postgame, via the ESPN broadcast. “The big emphasis was coming in and making a half court game. They’re a great three three-point shooting team and a great free throw team. We were just trying to play a half court game without fouling. … Just being disciplined. We had a great scout and just sticking to that was a key. Just closing out with high hands and switching when we needed to.”

Duke big man Kyle Filipowski had to be sat down the stretch due to foul trouble, which could have been a heavy blow for the Blue Devils in the second half. Despite this, the former five-star recruit ended the game playing 30 minutes while putting up a key 14 points and eight rebounds.

Backup big man Ryan Young would play 15 valuable minutes in his place, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 from the floor and hauling in three key offensive rebounds.

Ryan’s an energy player,” Proctor continued. “He works every day. He’s one of the best offensive rebounders in the country and he did his job tonight and we’re very grateful for that. … We were trying to get the ball into him second half really quickly. Once they started putting so much pressure on him, we just got availability to get downhill and just play our game.”

Ultimately, senior guard Jeremy Roach would lead the team in points having scored 16 points in 29 minutes off the bench, including four made three-point baskets. Compare that to the Hokies’ six total made deep balls on 22 attempts.

Now, Duke improves to 16-4 on the season and rounds out its January schedule with a win.

Now, all eyes will be on Saturday for a game of the year candidate on paper as No. 7 Duke travels to Chapel Hill for meeting No. 1 against the No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels. Tip-off for college basketball’s most notable rivalry is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN.