No. 8 Virginia Falls at No. 20 Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. – No. 8 Virginia (11-3, 7-1 ACC) fell 65-51 at No. 20 Virginia Tech (13-3, 7-2 ACC) for its first ACC loss of the season on Saturday night at Cassell Coliseum.

Four players scored in double figures for Virginia. Jay Huff (Durham, N.C.) led with 13 points. Kihei Clark (Woodland Hills, Calif.) had 11 points, while Sam Hauser (Stevens Point, Wis.) and Trey Murphy III (Durham, N.C.) each added 10.

Virginia shot 36.5 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from 3-point range. Virginia Tech shot 50 percent from the floor and beyond the arc, making seven threes in the second half. Keve Aluma scored a game-high 29 points for Virginia Tech.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clark opened the game with a three and Huff added a triple for UVA to lead 6-2. VT went on a 7-0 run to go up 9-6 before Clark hit his second three to tie it up a the 13:53 mark in the first half. Huff hit a three to put UVA back in the lead and back-to-back jumpers by Casey Morsell (Fort Washington, Md.) made it 21-14 Virginia. The Cavaliers held the Hokies scoreless for the final six minutes of the first half to lead 29-21 at the half.

Virginia Tech cut it to five early in the second half, but Huff hit a three and a jumper to make it 39-29. UVA was leading 47-44 when the Hokies went on a 19-0 run. UVA did not score for seven minutes in the second half.

FROM TONY BENNETT

On if team struggled for full 40 minutes or just the final eight:

“It’s never for the full 40 minutes but you just can’t have big gaps where you’re not getting stops or being assertive enough. It was too easy for them to post up, do things and then make some plays and we just weren’t right. And boy let that be a lesson because you can’t survive like that. So again, we’ll try to grow from it. There were stretches we got a lead, we ran some good stuff, had stretches a good defense, I’ll always acknowledge that. But, either a half of basketball or a part of basketball doesn’t work, it has to be start to finish. We knew Virginia Tech was going bring, in a rivalry game, you’re going get their best shot so can we give them our best shot, partly due to them, partly due to us we did not do that for long enough to win enough possessions at all. They just sort of got momentum and we couldn’t hang on.”

NOTES

• UVA led 29-21 at the half
• Tech gained a 49-47 lead at 7:08 second half, its first lead since an 11-9 advantage at 13:14 first half
• Tech went on a 19-0 run over 7:13 to gain a 63-47 lead
• UVA’s last points came on a Jay Huff layup at 8:25 of the second half
• Virginia scored a season-low 51 points
• UVA went 3 of 4 from the charity strip
• UVA tied a season low with one blocked shot

UP NEXT

Virginia travels to NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 3 for a 9 p.m. tip in Raleigh, N.C. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.