First, let me wish all of our readers Happy Holidays from SCACCHoops.com. This time of the year is great for basketball, but it is even more important to share with family and friends. This should be our last post till Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, when we get back to business and start looking forward to ACC conference play around the corner.
Despite scoring just 20 points in the first half, Duke trailed by only one point, and ultimately beat Gonzaga 61-54. Greg Paulus showed critics the intensity and fire that he can bring to the game and to the young Blue Devils squad. It seemed as Paulus took it on to personally ignite the Duke offense, that started 4-24 from the floor. Paulus had a career-high 20 pts, and added 4 assists against just 1 turnover.
Josh McRoberts added a double-double with 11 pts, 11 rebs and also added 5 asts, 3 blks, and 3 stls. Jon Scheyer was the only other Blue Devil in double-figures with 14 pts and 4 rebs. Once again, Mike Krzyzewski limited his rotation to basically six players, with Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas, and Marty Pocius playing a combined 8 minutes.
Prior to the Duke/Gonzaga matchup, Virginia Tech impressively took care of Seton Hall 80-61. Jamon Gordon was the star of the game with 22 pts, 8 rebs, 7 stls and one nice dunk on a fastbreak. Zabian Dowdell (12 pts, 4 asts) and freshman, Nigel Munson (12 pts, 3 asts) were the other Hokies in double-figures.
Seton Hall shot just 28% from the floor and turned the ball over 21 times.
While Duke and Virginia Tech were playing on one of the biggest stages in the US, Virginia was in Puerto Rico licking their wounds after losses to Appalachian St and Utah. The Cavaliers finally won a game in Puerto Rico against host, PR Mayaguez, by a score of 59-52. Adrian Joseph led the Cavaliers in scoring with 10 pts, while Dave Leitao was forced to use some odd lineups against a team that had no one over 6'6".
Ryan Pettinella and Jason Cain played a combined 9 minutes, while Laurynas Mikalauskas and Jerome Meyinsee got the bulk of the time. Pettinella suffered a knee injury early in the game, that forced him to miss the remainder of the game, and could be serious enough to make his miss several games.
The final ACC game of the night featured Florida State taking care of Coastal Carolina 78-65. Al Thornton finished with 21 pts, 6 rebs, and 4 stls and Toney Douglas had 17 pts to lead the 'Noles to the win.
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