BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A.D. Vassallo and Jeff Allen each scored 19 points for Virginia Tech as the Hokies held off Gardner-Webb 65-62 on Friday night.
Virginia Tech (1-0) jumped out to a 10-2 lead and held a comfortable 40-26 margin at halftime. The Runnin' Bulldogs (0-1) outscored the Hokies 36-25 in the second half, mostly on a 9-0 run that began with 5:20 remaining.
Gardner-Webb cut the lead to 63-62 with 24 seconds left on two Aaron Linn free throws.
Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney, who was fouled on the next possession, answered with a pair of free throws one second later. Gardner-Webb's Grayson Flittner, who led all scorers with 21 points, missed a pair of 3-pointers in the waning seconds. Linn missed his own 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Virginia Tech is now 6-0 in season openers under coach Seth Greenberg.
