Pedulla’s 22 points lift Virginia Tech past 6th place Virginia

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Sean Pedulla scored 22 points and Virginia Tech beat No. 6 Virginia 74-68 on Saturday, ending the Cavaliers’ seven-game winning streak.

Pedulla hit 6 of 13 from the floor as the Hokies (14-10, 4-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned their biggest win of the season. He added 8 of 9 from the free throw line as Virginia Tech never trailed.

Justin Mutts added 17 points for the Hokies, who shot 50 percent from the floor for the fourth straight game.

Jayden Gardner’s 20 points led Virginia (17-4, 9-3), which saw its usually stingy defense struggle.

The Cavaliers tied the game at 38 on Gardner’s field goal with 15:09 to go, but the Hokies outscored Virginia 17-7 over the next seven minutes and never looked back.

Mutts hit 7 of 11 from the floor and added eight assists and four rebounds. Grant Basile had 14 points and Hunter Cattoor scored his 10 points in the second half for the Hokies.

Kihei Clark finished with 17 points for the Cavaliers, while Reece Beekman had 15. Armaan Franklin, who had scored in double figures in 10 straight games, had six.

ADVICE

Virginia: The Cavaliers suffered a rare poor outing on the defensive end, and it cost them. They led the ACC in scoring defense (60.2 ppg), but allowed the Hokies to score 74 points and shoot 50.9 percent (27 of 53) from the floor.

Virginia Tech: After losing eight of their previous 10 games, the Hokies needed a big win to help their thin NCAA tournament resume. Registering 19 assists and returning the ball just eight times were key.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE SURVEY

The Cavaliers were one-point underdogs going into the game, so they shouldn’t drop more than a few spots in the next poll.

FOLLOWING

Virginia: The Cavaliers host NC State on Tuesday.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies host Boston College on Wednesday.

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