Wendell Moore Jr. scored all 12 of his points in the second half as No. 10 Duke overcame a rough opening stretch to defeat host Virginia Tech 77-63 in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener Friday night in Blacksburg, Va.
Duke went to a smaller lineup for a stretch in the second half and finally went ahead -- 48-47 -- for the first time since the opening two minutes.
The Blue Devils ended the game on a 23-10 run.
Tre Jones poured in 15 points and Vernon Carey Jr. had 12 points for Duke (9-1), which was the only ACC team without a conference game in the first week of the season. Jordan Goldwire added 10 points off the bench.
Moore scored eight points in a seven-minute span of the second half as Duke went from one down to seven up.
Duke finished 10-for-10 on free throws, while Virginia Tech (6-3, 1-1) was 4-for-6.
P.J. Horne scored 15 points and Wabissa Bede and Tyrece Radford had 12 points each for the Hokies, who have lost three games in a row since knocking off Michigan State in the Maui Invitational.
Virginia Tech scoring leader Landers Nolley was held to seven points. He was charged with nine turnovers.
The Hokies, playing in their conference home opener under first-year coach Mike Young, burst out to a 20-8 lead by hitting nine of their first 12 shots.
Duke came back to pull within one late in the first half before Virginia Tech went to the break with a 31-28 edge. Carey and Horne each had 10 points.
Duke freshman guard Cassius Stanley was back in action a week after exiting a game against Winthrop with a leg injury that coach Mike Krzyzewski said might keep him out until around Christmas. He missed Tuesday night's victory at No. 11 Michigan State. Stanley was in the starting lineup, but he didn't score.
Duke lost in its previous three visits to Virginia Tech, but the Blue Devils won last March's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup in Washington.
--Field Level Media
