Kyle Guy scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half, but No. 3 Virginia needed a strong second-half stretch to defeat No. 20 Virginia Tech 64-58 on Monday night in Blacksburg, Va.

Ty Jerome added 16 points and De'Andre Hunter had 10 points for visiting Virginia (23-2, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which moved a half-game behind first-place Duke in the conference. Guy had a team-high seven rebounds.

The Cavaliers, who improved to 7-2 against nationally ranked teams this season, have won in six of their last eight visits to their in-state rival.

Virginia broke a second-half tie with a 14-4 run for a 48-38 edge with 11 minutes left in the game.

Later on, Braxton Key's 3-point basket made it 56-43 with less than six minutes to play, marking his first points of the game and capping the Cavaliers' 8-0 spurt. The Virginia reserve had made only one of his previous 13 shots from 3-point range.

When Virginia Tech pulled within 58-51, Guy drained a 3-pointer with 2:09 to play. He finished 6-for-13 from long range.

Kerry Blackshear Jr. poured in 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Ahmed Hill added 16 points for Virginia Tech, which lost for the third time in five games. The Hokies (20-6, 9-5) also got 11 points from Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Virginia Tech entered the game leading the ACC in 3-point shooting but shot 3-for-28 from long distance.

The Hokies and Cavaliers are the top two teams in the ACC in terms of scoring defense, and points were difficult to come by at times Monday.

The Cavaliers took a 32-29 lead to halftime, holding Virginia Tech to 2-for-13 on 3-point attempts.

Guy was 4-for-8 on 3-point tries in the first half. Blackshear had 15 points by the half.

Virginia scored seven straight points for a 23-16 lead with 6:33 left in the first half but couldn't shake the Hokies.

Eight first-half Virginia turnovers helped the Hokies, who turned the final of those into an Isaiah Wilkins layup before the buzzer.

Virginia drubbed the Hokies 81-59 in the first matchup of the season Jan. 15 at home.

Virginia Tech dropped to 3-3 in games since senior guard Justin Robinson has been out with an ankle injury.

--Field Level Media