Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 20 points and Michigan pulled away late in the second half for a 75-63 win against Virginia Tech in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday in Florida.
Michigan (5-1) will play the winner of South Carolina versus No. 22 Xavier on Wednesday in the Beach Division final. The losing teams will play first in the third-place contest.
Will Tschetter scored 10 points off the bench for the Wolverines, who have won four straight. Tre Donaldson scored all nine of his points in the second half.
Tobi Lawal scored 14 points and Jaydon Young added 12 off the bench for the Hokies (3-3), who have lost three straight.
Michigan shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the field, while Virginia Tech hit 34.5 percent (20-for-58), including 4-of-17 from 3-point range.
The second half featured three ties before L.J. Cason scored a layup followed by a 3-pointer to give Michigan a 53-49 lead with 12:45 remaining in the game. Gayle made four free throws in a span of 43 seconds to Michigan a 59-52 lead at the 9:08 mark.
Virginia Tech stayed cold and Vladislav Goldin’s dunk made it 63-53. Two free throws apiece from Goldin and Danny Wolf gave Michigan a 12-point cushion with 4:03 left.
Rubin Jones increased the lead to 70-57 when he scored and added a free throw, and Gayle clinched it with a 3-pointer with 2:31 remaining.
The Hokies scored six points over an approximately 10-minute plus span of the second half. They shot 1-for-10 from the field during that drought.
Trailing 5-2 in the opening minutes, Virginia Tech went on a 10-0 run capped by Brandon Rechsteiner’s jumper and led 21-10 after Mylyjael Poteat’s jumper at the 10:13 mark.
Michigan responded with a quick 7-0 run keyed by Nimari Burnett’s 3-pointer.
Gayle’s triple pulled Michigan within 28-26 and another 3 from Burnett gave the Wolverines their first lead since the opening minutes. They took a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
Virginia Tech shot 10 free throws in the half and made seven, while Michigan shot only two, making both.
For the game, Michigan outscored Virginia Tech 30-12 from the 3-point arc.
–Field Level Media
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