Vladislav Goldin scored 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting, and he keyed a suffocating defense with a game-high three blocks as No. 19 Florida Atlantic defeated Virginia Tech 84-50 on Sunday afternoon in the ESPN Events Invitational championship game in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Owls (5-1) also got a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds from Alijah Martin, who made 5 of 9 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.
Martin was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Goldin and Johnell Davis, who had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Owls on Sunday, also had outstanding performances in the tournament.
Virginia Tech (5-2) had its four-game winning streak broken. The Hokies, normally a good shooting team, missed their first 15 shots from 3-point range.
Hokies guard Hunter Cattoor, an Orlando native who was essentially back in his hometown, scored 11 points but went 0-for-8 on 3-pointers. He entered Sunday as a career 42.1 percent 3-point shooter, including 45.8 percent this season.
Teammate Sean Pedulla matched Cattoor with 11 points, but he went 0-for-4 from deep. He entered Sunday shooting 46.2 percent from the arc to start the season.
The Owls led 32-24 at halftime as the Hokies missed all eight of their 3-point tries. The Owls shot 48.1 percent from the floor for the first 20 minutes, and the Hokies were held to 35.7 percent.
Goldin, a 7-foot-1 center, had an impressive first half with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting, two rebounds and two blocks. One of his buckets was a highly athletic finish on an Owls fast break.
The Owls put the game away with a 15-0 run midway through the second half.
For the game, Florida Atlantic shot 56.9 percent from the floor, including 40.9 percent on 3-pointers (9-for-22).
Virginia Tech shot 33.3 percent from the floor, including 11.8 percent on 3-pointers (2-for-17).
The Owls also had a 40-29 advantage on rebounds.
–Field Level Media