Ben Hammond came off the bench to score 10 of his career-high 30 points in the third overtime as Virginia Tech outlasted No. 21 Virginia 95-85 in the Commonwealth Clash on Wednesday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va.
Christian Gurdak contributed 17 points and 19 rebounds as the injury-riddled Hokies (12-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame the loss of three starters to win their sixth straight game.
Amani Hansberry delivered 17 points and 15 rebounds for Virginia Tech, while Neoklis Avdalas added 17 points and eight rebounds. The Hokes were without Tyler Johnson, who was on crutches with an undisclosed injury, joining Tobi Lawal (foot) and Antonio Dorn (back) on the sideline.
Malik Thomas scored 26 points and Thijs De Ridder added 22 points and 13 rebounds to pace Virginia (11-2, 0-1), which saw its six-game winning streak end.
No. 4 UConn 90, Xavier 67
Alex Karaban scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Huskies to a win over the Musketeers in Cincinnati.
Braylon Mullins amassed 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for UConn (13-1, 3-0 Big East). Solo Ball came back after missing one game with a wrist injury to score 17 points.
Malik Messina-Moore led the Musketeers (9-5, 1-2) with 16 points. UConn dominated from the 3-point arc, hitting 13 of 28 (46.4%). The Musketeers were just 4 of 18 (22.2%) on long-distance attempts.
No. 6 Duke 85, Georgia Tech 79
Freshman Cameron Boozer totaled a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who fought off the Yellow Jackets for a victory in both teams’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener in Durham, N.C.
Isaiah Evans added 17 points, while Cayden Boozer scored 13 for Duke (12-1, 1-0 ACC), which rebounded from its first loss of the season — an 82-81 defeat against then-No. 19 Texas Tech on Dec. 20.
Kowacie Reeves Jr. tied his career high with 23 points to lead Georgia Tech (9-5, 0-1), which fell to 0-4 against major-conference opponents. The Yellow Jackets were outrebounded 42-28 and were outscored 24-11 at the free-throw line.
