Virginia Tech Survives Late Scare, Holds Off Georgia Tech 71-65 in Gritty ACC Battle
For about 36 minutes Tuesday night in Blacksburg, Virginia Tech looked like a team in control. But in the final four? They looked like a team hanging on for dear life.
The Hokies ultimately walked away with a 71-65 win over Georgia Tech, but it wasn’t without drama. What started as a game that looked like it might be put to bed early turned into a late-night nail-biter - and a reminder that no ACC win comes easy.
A Tale of Two Starts
Georgia Tech came out of the gates swinging. Kam Craft lit the fuse with three straight triples to open the game, and just like that, the Yellow Jackets were up 9-0 before the Hokies had even broken a sweat.
But Virginia Tech didn’t flinch. Instead, they answered with a 15-1 run of their own, flipping the momentum and taking their first lead of the night.
The first half turned into a tug-of-war, with both teams trading mini-runs. Georgia Tech briefly reclaimed the lead at 24-20, but the Hokies closed the half strong behind a balanced effort from their young core.
Freshmen Christian Gurdak and Neoklis Avdalas each chipped in eight points before the break, while Ben Hammond led the way with 10. That trio helped the Hokies take a 36-30 lead into halftime, and it felt like the tide had officially turned.
Ugly Wins Still Count
Coming out of the locker room, Virginia Tech kept the pressure on. Georgia Tech, despite the early fireworks, couldn’t find much rhythm offensively. The Hokies weren’t exactly lighting it up either - they shot just 34% from the field and 8-of-29 from deep - but they did just enough to keep the Jackets at arm’s length.
With 4:16 left, the Hokies led 65-50. That should’ve been the knockout punch. But then came the collapse.
Tobi Lawal, one of Virginia Tech’s key interior presences, picked up three quick fouls in a span of about two minutes and fouled out. That opened the door, and Georgia Tech came charging through it.
The Yellow Jackets rattled off 11 unanswered points, slicing the deficit to just four. Suddenly, a game that looked over was anything but.
Virginia Tech couldn’t buy a bucket - literally. They didn’t make a single field goal in the final 6:58 of game time.
Every one of their last 14 points came from the free-throw line.
Avdalas split a pair of free throws, and Georgia Tech responded with an uncontested layup to make it a one-score game. Jailen Bedford hit one of two from the stripe, but the Hokies gave up another easy layup, and just like that, it was 68-65.
But when it mattered most, Virginia Tech’s veterans came through. Hammond calmly knocked down two free throws to push the lead to five, and after Georgia Tech missed a three, Bedford iced it with two more at the line.
Grinding It Out
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a pretty win. Virginia Tech struggled to get much going offensively outside of Hammond, who once again played the role of closer with a team-high 20 points. Bedford added 14, and Gurdak was solid inside with 11 points and seven boards.
But the shooting woes were hard to ignore. Amani Hansberry finished with just five points on 1-of-5 shooting, though he did grab eight rebounds.
Lawal had 10 points but went just 2-of-7 from the field before fouling out. Jaden Schutt couldn’t find the bottom of the net, going 0-for-5 and finishing scoreless.
Avdalas, despite his early spark, ended the night 3-of-15 from the floor.
Still, a win is a win. And in a conference as unforgiving as the ACC, finding a way to close out games - even the ugly ones - matters.
Virginia Tech will certainly look to clean things up moving forward, but for now, they’ll take the result. Survive and advance - that’s the name of the game in late January.
And for Georgia Tech, it’s another frustrating loss in a season full of near-misses. The Jackets showed fight, no doubt, but moral victories don’t show up in the standings.