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No. 9 Virginia Tech misfires but avoids upset
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ATLANTA (AP) — Ahmed Hill scored 15 points, Kerry Blackshear Jr. added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 9 Virginia Tech overcame a terrible shooting performance to beat Georgia Tech 52-49 on Wednesday night.
The Hokies (14-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their ninth straight game for the school’s best start to a season since the 1982-83 team had an identical record. They never trailed after Georgia Tech led in the first minute.
Virginia Tech, the nation’s second-best 3-point shooting team, hit only five 3s and finished at 18.5 percent from beyond the arc but still made enough stops to win.
Jose Alvarado scored 20 points and Abdoulaye Gueye had 11 for Georgia Tech (9-6, 1-1). The Yellow Jackets had won three in a row.
The game featured an abundance of mistakes in the closing minutes. Justin Robinson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Virginia Tech and Michael Devoe did the same for the Yellow Jackets. James Banks III missed an easy layup for Georgia Tech and, after Blackshear hit a free throw, Brandon Alston threw the ball out of bounds with no teammate nearby.
Gueye made the final gaffe, stepping on the baseline as he attempted to throw a pass down court with 1.8 seconds remaining.
Hill provided the spark offensively and Robinson defensively as the Hokies earned a tough conference road win with a trip to No. 4 Virginia up next.
Virginia Tech appears to be back where it left off last February when it achieved its highest ranking ever at No. 8. But on this night, the Hokies had to make do without their usual perimeter shooting.
Virginia Tech was 2 for 13 on 3s before Hill connected from the left corner. He followed with an acrobatic, fast-break dunk on the ensuing possession to make it 37-27.
The Hokies missed their next eight attempts from beyond the arc before Isaiah Wilkins hit a 3 with 7:42 remaining.
Syracuse 61, Clemson 53:
Elijah Hughes had 14 points to lead four Syracuse players in double figures and the Orange beat Clemson 61-53 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.
Tyus Battle and Frank Howard scored 12 points apiece and Marek Dolezaj chipped in with 10 for Syracuse (11-4, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which scored 20 points off 17 turnovers by the Tigers (10-5, 0-2 ACC).
Marcquise Reed topped Clemson with 16 points and Elijah Thomas had 13 before fouling out late.
The Tigers shot just 36 percent for the game and 5 of 20 from beyond the arc. Syracuse hit 42 percent from the field but just 7 of 22 in the final 20 minutes, and was 6 of 26 from 3 for the game.