Duke outlasts Virginia in thriller to win ACC Tournament title

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Evans scored 20 points, Cameron Boozer made two free throws with 3.9 seconds to seal the game and No. 1 Duke defeated No. 10 Virginia 74-70 on Saturday night for its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship under coach Jon Scheyer and its third title in the past four years.

Cayden Boozer had 16 points, and Tournament MVP Cameron Boozer overcame a poor shooting night to finish with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Blue Devils extended their winning streak to 11 games heading into the NCAA Tournament, where they’re expected to be the No. 1 overall seed.

Malik Thomas had 18 points and Sam Lewis had 17 for Virginia in a game in which neither team led by more than seven points and featured 16 lead changes.

"That was a heavyweight fight," Scheyer said amid the confetti at midcourt at the Spectrum Center after the game. "And I think people know that Virginia is really good, but I don't think everybody does. So they tested us in every way. Man, I was just so proud of our guys, the competitive spirit we had down the stretch."

Duke (32-2) won despite tying a season low shooting 38% from the field and Cameron Boozer, the ACC player of the year, making just 3-of-17 shots from the field.

Four of his shots were blocked by Virginia center Ugonna Onyenso, who finished with nine for the game and an ACC Tournament-record 21 over three games, shattering Tim Duncan’s record of 14 which stood for 31 years. He had seven blocks in the second half.

"It proves that we can fight through adversity," Cameron Boozer said. "We won ugly. Obviously being down two guys (due to injuries to starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II) was tough, but we found a way. ... We wanted to make a statement — whether we have nine guys, seven guys or five guys, we are going to find a way."

Despite the loss, the Cavaliers (29-5) were upbeat about their chances heading into the NCAA Tournament.

"I feel like we are going to make a run," Onyenso said.

Virginia's first-year head coach Ryan Odom was proud of how his team defended Cameron Boozer and was competitive until the end after getting blown out by the Blue Devils 77-51 two weeks ago at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Odom said it is "brutal" trying to prepare a defense to stop Cameron Boozer.

"He's just a special player," Odom said. "He has the ability to beat you in a multitude of ways, whether it is driving against a bigger guy, his physicality as he gets closer to the rim, banging the shot from beyond the arc, getting to the free throw line or making the pass. He made several key passes where they got layups."

The Cavaliers fell to 1-33 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents — and 0-18 against top-ranked Duke teams.

Virginia never looked intimidated despite last month’s blowout loss.

Even after Duke threatened to pull away late in the first half after building a 36-29 lead, the Cavaliers were able to regroup and take a 4-point lead in the second half.

It was back and forth from there until Cayden Boozer put back a weakside rebound to put the Blue Devils up for good at 68-66 with 2:50 left. The Cavaliers couldn’t get a shot off in time in their next possession and Duke seized the momentum with Evans, who played high school basketball 20 minutes from the arena, hitting two free throws for a 70-66 lead.

Onyenso scored low to cut the lead to two and Cameron Boozer missed two free throws opening the door for Virginia. Thomas had a chance to tie the game after being fouled on the other end, but missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Onyenso blocked Cameron Boozer for a fifth time, but Boozer was able to get his own rebound and wisely passed the ball back outside where the Cavaliers fouled Evans. He sank both free throws with 12.3 seconds left to put Duke up by four.

Thomas made a layup and Virginia again fouled Boozer, who made amends for his earlier misses by calmly sinking two free throws to seal the win.

"He did a good job and never showed any (frustration)," Onyenso said of Boozer.

Up next

Both teams will await their seed in the NCAA Tournament. It's expected Duke will be a No. 1 seed and play in Greenville, South Carolina — the closest site to its Durham campus.