BLACKSBURG, Va. — Terrell Bell scored 12 points, including five straight to give Virginia Tech the lead for good, and the Hokies beat No. 1 Duke 64-60 on Saturday night.
The Hokies (19-8, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), badly in need of a signature victory to enhance their NCAA Tournament credentials, got it thanks to a 12-4 run over a span of 4 1/2 minutes that helped turn a six-point deficit into a 62-57 lead with two minutes remaining.
The Blue Devils (26-3, 12-2) had chances in the closing minute to pull even when Virginia Tech struggled at the free-throw line, but couldn’t capitalize. Duke had its seven-game winning streak snapped and allowed the Hokies to boost their NCAA hopes.
Kyle Singler led Duke with 22 points and Nolan Smith had 18.
Jeff Allen led the Hokies with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Bell and Erick Green each scored 12 as the Hokies improved to 4-7 in their history against teams ranked No. 1.
The Hokies trailed 51-45 until Malcolm Delaney’s driving basket with 9:28 left. It ignited a 12-4 burst, with the last seven coming in succession to give then a 57-55 lead. Bell had the last five — a 3-pointer to tie it from the right corner and two free throws.
Bell then blocked a driving shot by Smith, and after an exchange of misses at each end, Mason Plumlee went high to block a shot by Allen and was called for goaltending, doubling the Hokies’ lead to 59-55 leading into a timeout with 2:39 remaining.
Singler scored for the Blue Devils, but Delaney atoned for a rough night by swishing his only 3-pointer from the top of the key, rebuilding the margin to 62-57 with 2:01 to play.
A layup by Plumlee with 1:25 left and his free throw with 23.2 seconds left was all the Blue Devils could muster the rest of the way, allowing Virginia Tech to hang on.
No. 9 Notre Dame 60, Seton Hall 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The win allowed the Irish to stay in second place in the Big East and was another step toward the double-bye in the upcoming league tournament.
UCLA 71, No. 10 Arizona 49
LOS ANGELES — UCLA held the Wildcats to a season low in points; Arizona came in averaging 77.6 — second-best in the Pac-10. The Wildcats shot 21 percent from 3-point range, well off their league-leading 41 percent.
The Bruins gained control of a game that was close early with a 22-2 run spanning halftime.
No. 17 Syracuse 58, No. 11 Georgetown 51
WASHINGTON — The Orange won its fourth consecutive game by pulling away down the stretch after the teams were tied at 45 with seven minutes left.
Georgetown ranks No. 6 in the country in field-goal percentage at 48.9, but Syracuse limited the Hoyas to 36 percent (18-for-50).
No. 22 Kentucky 76, No. 13 Florida 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Darius Miller scored a career-high 24 points and the Wildcats won their 33rd straight home game and gave coach John Calipari his 500th career victory.
Kentucky took control of a tight game with a 10-2 burst midway through the second half.
No. 23 St. John’s 81, No. 15 Villanova 68
PHILADELPHIA — Dwight Hardy scored a career-high 34 points and St. John’s showed it doesn’t need to be at Madison Square Garden to beat a ranked team.
The Red Storm won its sixth straight game and beat its first top-25 team away from the Garden. Led by first-year coach Steve Lavin, the Red Storm has knocked off six ranked opponents this season.
St. John’s raced to a 14-point lead in the opening minutes, then held on down the stretch.
No. 18 Vanderbilt 90, LSU 69
BATON ROUGE, La. — Jeffery Taylor scored 20 points and Vanderbilt outscored LSU 49-26 in the second half.
No. 24 Temple 57, George Washington 41
WASHINGTON — After scoring just eight points in the opening 10 minutes, Temple finally took the lead for good when it held George Washington to just two points over the final 11:22.
