No. 13 Virginia holds off NCAA Tournament bubble team Virginia Tech for a 76-72 win

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Ugo Onyenso and Malik Thomas each had 16 points, Sam Lewis scored 15 and No. 13 Virginia held off Virginia Tech for a 76-72 win on Saturday.

The Cavaliers (27-4, 15-3) have already clinched a second-place finish in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, and are all but assured of a berth in the NCAA Tournament field. The Hokies (19-12, 8-10) entered directly into the NCAA bubble and are looking for an AP Top 25 win to improve their resume.

Announcement

Ben Hammond led the Hokies with 21 points and five assists. He missed a pair of free throws with 2:09 to play within four points.

Virginia went 15-of-17 at the free throw line.

Virginia Tech outscored Virginia 95-85 in triple overtime in the ACC opener for both teams on Dec. 31. Neither Virginia’s Jacari White nor Tech’s Tyler Johnson played in that game.

In this rematch, the home team took a 12-0 lead. The Hokies, on the other hand, came out cold, missing eight of their first nine shots from beyond the arc.

The Hokies got within six points before halftime, but the Cavaliers outscored them 14-4 in the final 5:50 and went into the locker room ahead 41-25.

Announcement

Virginia Tech fought back after halftime, tying the game at 51-51 with 10:56 left before Virginia used an 8-0 spurt to regain control.

Next

Both teams await placement in the ACC Tournament.

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