A.J. Griffin has late surge, No. 7 Duke beats Virginia 65-61

Updated Feb. 23, 2022 9:14 p.m. ET

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A.J. Griffin hit back-to-back 3-pointers and scored on a drive after making just one basket in the first 36 minutes and No. 7 Duke beat Virginia 65-61 on Wednesday night.

Griffin's first 3 gave the Blue Devils (24-4, 14-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 55-51 lead with 3:39 to play. His next one made it 58-53 with 2:41 left, and his drive made it 60-55 with just over two minutes to play. Trevor Keels' basket with 56 seconds left and and a free throw were just enough to finish it.

Kihei Clark made a career-best six 3-pointers, all in the first half, and scored a career-high 25 points for the Cavaliers (17-11, 11-7). They were trying to sweep the season series after winning 69-68 at Duke on Feb. 7.

.Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 15 points, and Griffin and Keels added 13 each. Jayden Gardner had 16, and Reece Beekman 11 for the Cavaliers.

Duke led 30-25 at halftime and by eight in the second half. The Cavaliers used a 7-0 run to get within 52-51 with five minutes to play, Both teams had empty trips down court before Griffin made his first 3 from the top of the key.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: The Blue Devils were outscored 20-2 off turnovers in their earlier loss to Virginia when they turned the ball over 15 times. They had just eight giveaways tis time and were outscored by 9-8 off turnovers.

Virginia: Coach Tony Bennett paid tribute to Duke's retiring Mike Krzyzewski before the game, thanking him for all he's done for the sport and presenting him with a plaque. Krzyzewski also walked across the court to greet longtime Cavaliers coach Terry Holland, who was seated next to the broadcast table.

UP NEXT

Duke: At Syracuse on Saturday.

Virginia: Hosts Florida State on Saturday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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