National Basketball Association
Virginia Tech 83, Syracuse 73
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia
Officials:
# Bill Covington, # Michael Stephens, # Gene Steratore
Attendance:
6047
By The Sports Xchange
Senior forward Zach LeDay scored 22 points, and Virginia Tech snapped an eight-game losing streak against Syracuse with an 83-73 ACC win over the Orange on Tuesday at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.
Justin Bibbs had 18 points, Chris Clarke added 17 and Ahmed Hill finished with 13 for the balanced Hokies (13-3, 2-2 ACC), who improved to 10-0 at home and bounced back from consecutive conference losses.
Freshman Taurean Thompson led Syracuse (10-7, 2-2 ACC) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Andrew White, the Orange's leading scorer on the season, finished with 15 points.
The Hokies opened the second half with an 11-2 run and saw their lead grow to 45-32 on a corner 3-pointer from Hill.
Senior guard Seth Allen converted a three-point play that gave Virginia Tech its largest lead at 69-54 with 4:30 left. Allen finished with 11 points and was one of five Hokies to reach double figures.
Syracuse turned up its pressure down the stretch and got within six at 74-68 on Tyler Roberson's putback with 1:33 left. But Virginia Tech settled down, broke the Orange's press and sealed the win with Bibbs' breakaway dunk 47 seconds to play.
A late steal and breakaway dunk by Clarke helped the Hokies take a 37-31 lead into halftime.
Virginia Tech committed only one turnover in the first half and led by eight twice, but Syracuse found ways to stay close. White had 13 points in the first half for the Orange, who controlled the backboards in the first 20 minutes.
Syracuse hosts Boston College on Saturday, ahead of a two tough road games against ranked foes next week. The Orange travel to No. 11 North Carolina and No. 20 Notre Dame.
Virginia Tech will get a crack at the Fighting Irish, when Notre Dame comes to Blacksburg on Saturday.
Top Game Performances
Syracuse |
|
Virginia Tech |
Taurean Thompson 18 |
Scoring |
Zach LeDay 22 |
Frank Howard 4 |
Assists |
Chris Clarke 6 |
Tyler Roberson 10 |
Rebounds |
Justin Bibbs 7 |
John Gillon 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Chris Clarke 7 |
Tyus Battle 1 |
Steals |
Seth Allen 1 |
Taurean Thompson 3 |
Blocks |
Seth Allen 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Syracuse
|
73 |
43.1 |
5-17 |
12-16 |
12 |
35 |
7 |
3 |
11 |
Virginia Tech
|
83 |
49.1 |
8-20 |
19-27 |
20 |
29 |
3 |
3 |
6 |