Landers Nolley II had 27 points and a season-high seven 3-pointers and P. J. Horne added 14 points as host Virginia Tech ran past Lehigh 79-53 on Saturday afternoon at Blacksburg, Va.
Hunter Cattoor had season highs with 11 points and three 3-pointers and Tyrece Johnson had season highs of eight points and 11 rebounds for the Hokies, who are 4-0 after losing their top five scorers from a Sweet 16 team last season.
Jordan Cohen had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists and Jeameril Wilson had 11 and five rebounds for the Patriot League's Mountain Hawks, who have won 20 games in two of the last three seasons.
Cattoor had eight points and two 3-pointers and Nolley and Horne had five points apiece when the Hokies, who led by five at halftime, went on a 21-4 run for a 60-38 lead midway through the second half. They led by as many as 29.
Nolley, who missed his first four shots, was 10-of-19 from the field and 7-of-12 from the three-point line, adding five rebounds and four assists. He has 91 points in his first four games.
Virginia Tech had a 36-28 rebounding edge and took advantage of the Mountain Hawks' 19 turnovers. Lehigh shot 39.6 percent.
Lehigh led 15-9 seven minutes into the game after Ed Porter made a jumper before the Hokies went on a 10-0 run and did not trail again. Nolley and Cattoor had 3-pointers and Nahiem Alleyne punctuated the run on a dunk for a 23-18 lead. Nolley had two assists in that run. It was 37-32 at halftime.
Under new coach Mike Young, formerly of Wofford, the Hokies are 4-0 for the second consecutive season, the first time that has happened since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.
--Field Level Media
Lehigh | Virginia Tech | |
Jordan Cohen 11 | Scoring | Landers Nolley II 27 |
Andrei Arion 3 | Assists | Wabissa Bede 6 |
Jeameril Wilson 5 | Rebounds | Tyrece Radford 11 |
Jordan Cohen 4 | Free Throws Made | Nahiem Alleyne 3 |
Jakob Alamudun 2 | Steals | Wabissa Bede 3 |
Evan Taylor 1 | Blocks | Hunter Cattoor 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Lehigh | 53 | 39.6 | 7-22 | 4-5 | 14 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 19 |
Virginia Tech | 79 | 47.7 | 14-37 | 3-4 | 19 | 35 | 4 | 8 | 10 |