Toby Fournier powers No. 8 Duke over Virginia Tech 81-59

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Toby Fournier scored a season-high 27 points and collected nine rebounds to lead No. 8 Duke to an 81-59 victory over Virginia Tech on Sunday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Fournier, a freshman forward, shot 12 of 17 from the floor in an off-the-bench effort to power the Blue Devils (9-2, 1-0 ACC). Oluchi Okananwa added 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Delaney Thomas chipped in 14 points. Reigan Richardson finished with just five points but dished out a career-high-tying seven assists.

Carleigh Wenzel paced the Hokies (7-3, 0-1) with 19 points, while Carys Baker had 11 points and six rebounds.

Takeaways

Duke: The Blue Devils bounced back from their loss at No. 3 South Carolina with a decisive victory and improved to 24-4 when opening ACC play at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Virginia Tech: Duke’s stingy defense kept the Hokies from getting to their offensive actions consistently, leading them to turn the ball over 18 times while shooting a season-worst 14.3% from 3-point range.

Key moment

After trailing by three points early, Duke outscored Virginia Tech 32-10 on a run that bled into the second quarter. Fournier kickstarted the spurt for the Blue Devils with a layup in traffic, totaling 10 points and five rebounds over the 12-minute stretch.

Key stat

Duke entered this game ranking 15th nationally in 3-point shooting with a 38.8% clip and 18th nationally in assists per game with an average of 18.5. The Blue Devils had a positive assist-turnover ratio for the eighth time this season, and they improved to 5-0 when shooting north of 40% from behind the arc.

Up next

Duke hosts Wofford on Dec. 18. Virginia Tech hosts Radford on Sunday.

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