Hokies ride strong second half to 99-90 win over Wake Forest

Zach LeDay leads five Hokies in double figures with 31 points

March 8, 2017

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Virginia Tech scored 62 points after intermission and defeated Wake Forest, 99-90, Wednesday night in the second round of the 2017 ACC Tournament in Brooklyn, New York. With the victory, the Hokies, the tournament’s seventh seed, improve to 22-9 overall, while Wake Forest, the 10^th seed, falls to 19-13.

Wake Forest took a 44-37 lead into halftime, highlighted by a three-quarters court three-pointer at the buzzer by Greg McClinton. The game remained close through the first 12 minutes of the second half. Tech took the lead for good, 69-67, on a lay-up by Justin Bibbs with 8:28 remaining. The Hokies then pushed the lead to as many as 12 points on three different occasions.

The Demon Deacons made several three-pointers in the closing seconds to cut the lead to four points with 29 seconds remaining, but could get no closer. The Hokies scored 17 of their final 19 points on free throws, as they made 27 of 35 free throw attempts in the game, including 23 of 31 in the second half.

Zach LeDay recorded his sixth double-double of the season, with a career-high 31 points and a career-high tying 15 rebounds. The 31 points is tied for the second-most by a Hokie in an ACC Tournament game and the 15 rebounds is the most by a Hokie in an ACC Tournament game.

Seth Allen added 18 points for the Hokies, as five Tech players scored in double-figures. Justin Bibbs had 15 points, Ty Outlaw had 14 points and Ahmed Hill added 12 points in the win. Bryant Crawford led Wake Forest with 21 points.

The 189 combined points in the contest is the second-most ever in an ACC Tournament game and Tech’s 62 points in the second half is the third-most in a half in an ACC Tournament game.

The Hokies advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season. They will face second-seed Florida State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The game will be televised on ESPN and The ACC Network.

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