CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As hard as Duke fought, taking No. 8 Virginia into overtime, its turnover problems made it impossible to emerge with a win.
The Blue Devils turned it over a season-worst 22 times, the second consecutive game with 21 or more, and Virginia escaped with a 69-62 ACC basketball win Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena.
Jeremy Roach scored 16 points for Duke (17-8, 8-6 ACC), which dropped consecutive games for the first time this season.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia (19-4, 11-3) with 23 points, while Kihei Clark added 16.
Duke had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Kyle Filipowski’s shot attempt at the rim was blocked by Reece Beekman as the clock expired. An officials review determined no foul occurred and the game headed to overtime.
In overtime, Duke turned the ball over on its first three possessions. The last of those fouls was a charging call on Roach that was his fifth foul with 3:13 to play.
Brad Vander Plas split two free throws giving Virginia a 63-58 lead with 2:58 left in the extra period.
Tyrese Proctor scored on a drive in the lane cutting the Cavs lead to 63-60, and after two missed Virginia shots, his driving basket in the lane at 1:11 left Virginia up 63-62.
But Franklin’s 3-pointer from in front of the Virginia bench with 39.4 seconds to play gave the Cavaliers a 66-62 lead.
Dariq Whitehead returned to play for Duke after missing the last four games with a lower left leg sprain. He scored 10 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 44.9% but hit only 2 of 6 shots in overtime.
After committing turnovers on their first three possessions of the second half, the Blue Devils scored on 10 of 12 possessions — including eight in a row — to lead 51-46 when Whitehead scored with 9:14 to play.
But the turnover bug returned as the Blue Devils went into a four-minute scoreless skid. And the Blue Devils went nearly eight minutes without making a field goal.
While the Blue Devils turned it over three times, Virginia scored eight consecutive points. Vander Plas scored inside with 4:51 left giving the Cavaliers a 54-51 lead.
Layups by Franklin at 3:12 and 1:43 put Virginia in front 58-53.
Roach ended Duke’s drought without making a shot by scoring with 1:34 left to leave the Cavaliers up 58-55.
After Clark missed a 3-pointer with 58.5 seconds left, Jacob Grandison’s 3-pointer from the right corner with 50 seconds left tied the score at 58.
Vander Plas missed a 3-pointer with 28 seconds. Duke had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Beekman blocked Filipowski’s shot at the rim.
Duke started the second half with three consecutive turnovers before a Grandison 3-pointer gave the Blue Devils a 30-29 lead.
But Virginia answered with its first two 3-pointers of the game, with Franklin hitting one and Clark another to give the Cavaliers a 35-30 lead.
But Duke, despite Roach picking up his fourth foul and heading to the bench with 14:05 to play, heated up offensively. The Blue Devils scored on seven consecutive possessions, with Grandison hitting a 3-pointer and also a layup off a Ryan Young pass to put Duke up 41-40.
Whitehead sank consecutive 3-pointers from the left corner to put Duke up 47-42 with 11:29 to play.
Defensive first half
The Blue Devils took a 27-25 lead to halftime despite committing 11 first-half turnovers.
While hitting 9 of 19 field goals, Duke’s offensive rebounding proved a strength as the Blue Devils tallied 10 second-chance points.
Roach scored 12 points in the first half while Proctor had eight. Each player hit two 3-pointers in the first half.
Virginia led 9-5 before Roach scored nine consecutive Duke points to put his team in front. He hit a 3-pointer, then found space to drive and finish at the rim on consecutive possessions.
When Proctor hit a 3-pointer with 9:38 left until halftime, Duke led 20-13.
A flurry of Blue Devils turnovers, four during a stretch of five consecutive scoreless possessions, allowed the Cavaliers to climb closer.
Isaac McKneely’s layup with 6:10 left until halftime left Duke with a 20-17 lead.
Proctor’s impressive drive through the lane for a one-handed slam dunk with 56 seconds left in the half gave Duke a 27-21 lead.
But Virginia scored the final four points of the half, two on a McKneely drive and two more on a Beekman dunk that just beat the buzzer.
