Mylyjael Poteat gave Virginia Tech a lift off the bench, matching his career high with 18 points to propel the Hokies to a 91-67 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.
Lynn Kidd made 7 of 9 shots, also scoring 18 points, as the Hokies (13-7, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their third straight overall and improved to 10-1 at home.
Robbie Beran added 14 points and nine rebounds while Hunter Cattoor and Tyler Nickel each contributed 11 points for the Hokies, who had 23 assists on 32 made baskets.
Virginia Tech made 55.2 percent of its shots and hit 12 of 27 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
Baye Ndongo had 16 points and nine rebounds to pace Georgia Tech (9-11, 2-7), which lost for the eighth time in its past nine games. Miles Kelly added 11 points.
After trailing by 21 points in the first half, Georgia Tech rallied after intermission, cutting the deficit to 64-57 when Ndongo hit a driving hook shot with 7:57 left.
But the Hokies responded with 3-pointers on their next three possessions, with Sean Pedulla hitting two and Cattoor adding another to stretch the lead to 73-57.
In the first half, Virginia Tech took control with two 10-0 runs.
The first one came in the opening minutes, with the Hokies pounding the ball inside. Kidd muscled for a three-point play to start the spree and Poteat finished it off with two buckets, giving Virginia Tech a 12-5 edge.
The second run was fueled by 3-pointers from Cattoor and Nickel, as the Hokies expanded their lead to 25-10 with 9:10 left in the half.
Late in the period, the 6-foot-9, 265-pound Poteat loomed large. During a stretch of 2:19, he went on a personal 6-0 run and blocked shots on consecutive possessions as Virginia Tech took its biggest lead of the half, 40-19.
Carter Murphy gave the Yellow Jackets a much-needed lift, coming off the bench to drain a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2:10 of the half to help Georgia Tech close the deficit to 44-28 at the break.
Early in the second half, the Yellow Jackets made five straight shots, but the Hokies remained in charge as Kidd scored eight points in the first 3:16 of the period.
–Field Level Media