No. 13 Virginia holds off NCAA Tournament bubble team Virginia Tech for a 76-72 win
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2:37 PM on Saturday, March 7
By MIKE BARBER
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) had already clinched the No. 2 seed in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, and are all but assured of a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. The Hokies (19-12, 8-10) entered squarely on the NCAA bubble and in seek of an AP Top 25 win to enhance their resume.
Ben Hammond led the Hokies with 21 points and five assists. He missed a pair of free throws with 2:09 to play trailing by four points.
Virginia went 15 for 17 at the free-throw line.
Virginia Tech outlasted 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 contest.
In this rematch, the home team raced out to 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 to within six points before halftime, but the Cavaliers outscored them 14-4 over the final 5:50 and went to the locker room ahead 41-25.
Virginia Tech fought back after the break, tying the game at 51-51 with 10:56 to go before Virginia used an 8-0 spurt to reclaim control.
Both teams await ACC Tournament placement.
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