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| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Virginia Tech (6-3) | 41 | 33 | 74 |
 Radford (5-5) | 27 | 38 | 65 |
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RADFORD, Va. – Seth Allen scored 17 points to lead Virginia Tech to its first true road victory under Buzz Williams, a 74-65 win over neighboring Radford at the sold-out Dedmon Center on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Hokies moved to 6-3 overall on the season and avenged last year’s loss to the Highlanders at Virginia Tech Carilion Court. The Hokies beat their New River neighbors for the eighth time in nine meetings.
“It’s the next rung on the ladder,” Williams said of the road win. “You can’t be respectable if you can’t win games on the road. The best teams win games on the road. Even good teams win some games on the road. Obviously, it’s our first one since we’ve been here, and we’re thankful for it. Hopefully, it is a launching point going forward.”
The Hokies led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but Radford went on a 17-5 run in the final five minutes and cut the lead to 62-56 on a basket by Cameron Jones with 2:47 to go.
Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr. answered with a layup with 2:24 remaining to push the lead to 64-56, and Justin Bibbs added a free throw with 1:50 to go give the Hokies a nine-point edge. Allen’s three-point play with 1:13 left helped the Hokies stave off the Radford comeback.
“Everyone had that chip on their shoulder,” Allen said. “We said we weren’t leaving this building unless we had a win.
“It feels great. We work real hard – and that’s not an exaggeration. We work so hard, and it takes your whole soul to win, even if it’s 20 minutes down the road at Radford or if it’s three and a half hours in Durham. It takes everything you’ve got – no matter where you’re at.”
Allen went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 40 seconds to preserve the win. The Hokies made this game closer than it needed to be, as they hit just 15 of 28 from the stripe.
Tech made 11 of its first 14 shots from the floor to start the game, taking a 28-8 lead on Allen’s basket with 10:28 left in the first half. Allen was one of seven players to score in that stretch and finished the first half with 11 points.
“You have to have segments of a road game like that to have a chance to win,” Williams said. “You don’t necessarily know when it’s coming, but you do gain confidence when it happens at the beginning. Those types of things are required to win on the road.”
The Hokies cooled off toward the end of the first half, but still shot 51.5 percent (17 of 33) and hit 3 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc in taking a 41-27 halftime lead. Radford shot just 34.5 percent (10 of 29) in the first 30 minutes and turned the ball over nine times.
Tech opened the second half by scoring on five of its first seven possessions, while the Highlanders hit just one of their first six attempts. Blackshear Jr.’s basket with 15:15 left gave the Hokies a 51-31 lead.
The lead was too much for Radford to overcome. The Highlanders shot just 41.7 percent from the floor (25 of 60) and made just 3 of 20 3-point field-goal attempts.
Blackshear Jr. added a career-high 13 points for the Hokies, who shot 50 percent (28 of 56). Jalen Hudson scored 12, and Bibbs had 11.
Jones led Radford (5-5) with 16 points. Brandon Holcomb finished with 13.
Rashun Davis, Radford’s leading scorer at 14.8 points per game coming into this one, scored just four points
Tech continues non-conference action this Sunday when it takes on Lamar at Virginia Tech Carilion Court. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MBBall
