The #20 Virginia Tech Hokies (13-3, 7-2 ACC) dominated the #8 Virginia Cavaliers (11-3, 7-1 ACC) in the second half to end the Cavalier’s 15 game ACC winning streak with a final score of 65-51.
Early in the game, Kihei Clark and Jay Huff sank threes for the Hoos, while Keve Aluma had 7 early points. Aluma at one point had 16 of the Hokies’ 21 points. Later in the game, Kihei had a personal 5-0 run with a three pointer and a smooth fast break layup to score 11 points in the first half. Trey Murphy III checked in with a 3 to cap an 8-0 run for UVA. Virginia was able to prevent Tech from scoring the last six minutes of the first half, and UVA led 29-21 at halftime.
Keve Aluma continued to pace his team in the second half. He finished with a career high 29 points and was unstoppable all game. The second half started out with the teams trading baskets, but that quickly changed.
After Virginia led 42-34, Virginia Tech opened a 19-0 run to dominate the second half. While Virginia started out hot from three, shooting 10-20, but missed their last 8 three point attempts. The Hoos also finished 19-52 (37%) from the floor as they missed wide open looks. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech caught fire and hit a bunch of second half threes.
While the Hoos had a six and a half minute scoring drought, Hunter Cattoor, who finished with 15 points off the bench, and Keve Aluma ignited the Hokie offense. A 25-5 overall run was the dagger for the Hoos, in total they were outscored 44-22 in the second half. While Kihei Clark got off to a hot start with the 11 first half points, he, along with the rest of his team, could not find the bottom of the net in the second half. When the final buzzer sounded, Virginia Tech defeated the Wahoos by a final score of 65-51.
UVA will look to get back on track when they face NC State on Wednesday.
