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No. 7 Duke loses starter, ACC opener against Georgia Tech

Duke basketball’s Tyrese Proctor was injured in the first two minutes of the Blue Devils’ 72-68 loss at Georgia Tech in the ACC opener on Saturday in Atlanta.

While driving to the basket, Proctor appeared to roll his left ankle with 18:44 left in the first half.

The sophomore guard, who was unable to put weight on his left ankle, was helped off the court by teammates Stanley Borden and Neal Beogvich. Proctor didn’t return to the game.

“We’ll get an X-ray this weekend and we’ll see,’ Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the game. ‘But no update.”

Following Proctor’s injury, Georgia Tech went on a 14-1 run to take an 11-point lead with just under 15 minutes left in the first half.

“It was a tough day for us,’ Scheyer said. ‘One, losing Tyrese right away is a thing you have to react to in real time.’

One of three captains for the No. 7 Blue Devils, Proctor entered Saturday’s game averaging 11.7 points, 5.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-5 Aussie leads the ACC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.75. Proctor was in the starting lineup for each of Duke’s seven games this season, dropping a career-high 22 points against Bucknell.

Duke is 5-3, including 0-1 in the ACC. The Blue Devils return to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 9 to play Charlotte (2:15 p.m., CW Network).

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY