Virginia Tech rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit Saturday afternoon and beat visiting Wake Forest 87-76 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game in Blacksburg, Va.
Hunter Cattoor scored a game-high 26 points, and the Hokies (16-13, 8-10 ACC) shot 59.6 percent from the floor to win for just the third time in the last nine games.
The Hokies dealt a big blow to the NCAA Tournament hopes for Wake Forest (18-11, 10-8). The Demon Deacons lost their second straight road game and are 2-9 on the road this season.
Wake Forest led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Virginia Tech kept clawing back after halftime.
Lynn Kidd hit a layup between defenders with 15:08 left to play, capping an 8-0 run as the Hokies took a 51-50 lead.
Virginia Tech went on a 6-0 run and pushed its lead to 64-56 on a Cattoor 3-pointer with 10:36 remaining. Kidd pushed the Hokies’ lead to 70-60 on an acrobatic move for a banked layup with just under eight minutes left.
Virginia Tech shot 63.3 percent in the second half to Wake Forest’s 43.3 percent.
Kidd added 21 for Virginia Tech, which also got 15 from Sean Pedulla and 11 from MJ Collins.
Wake Forest had five players score in double figures, led by Kevin Miller’s 21 points.
The Demon Deacons shot a blistering 64.3 percent (9 of 14) on 3-pointers in the first half.
Wake Forest guards Miller and Cameron Hildreth combined for 23 points in the half.
Wake Forest shot 57.1 percent from the floor to take a 46-37 lead into halftime.
The Demon Deacons won the first matchup of the season between the schools 86-63 on Dec. 30 at home in Winston-Salem, N.C.
–Field Level Media
