There are no two ways about it, the loss hurts. I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad if Duke has royally trounced us, but they didn’t. It was a rolling wrestling match in the paint and on the edge. A physical game where defense didn’t count for much, but rebounding and quality ball handling made a serious difference.
In the end the Hokies couldn’t overcome their tendency to fade and lose focus in the critical third 10 minutes of the game (right after the half) when the lid went on the basket, Duke ate up the 4 point halftime lead, and then pulled ahead.