The Virginia Tech Hokies won their first true road game of the season, defeating the Rebels of Ole Miss 83-80 in overtime on Saturday.
Down 39-29 at halftime, the Hokies continued to struggle in the beginning moments of the second half. Ole Miss went on an 8-2 run to make the game 47-31 with 18 minutes remaining in the game.
The Hokies began to come back after a 3-pointer by Chris Clarke with 17:42 left in the game to make the score 34-47. From there, the Hokies went on a 13-3 run to make the score 47-50 with 12:27 left in the game. The Rebels did not lead by more than four the rest of the contest.
Justin Robinson made a 3-pointer with 3:31 left in the game to tie the game at 64. Kerry Blackshear made a layup with 21 seconds left in regulation to make the score 72-68 in favor of the Hokies, but layups by Terence Davis and Markel Crawford sent the Hokies into overtime for the first time this season.
Virginia Tech led for the majority of the overtime period and a pair of free throws from Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 20 seconds left made the score 83-80 in favor of the Hokies.
Leading the Hokies in scoring was Kerry Blackshear who had 17 points and five rebounds on the day. Blackshear was 5-for-8 from the field and 7-for-11 from the free throw line for the Hokies.
Chris Clarke recorded his second double-double of the season, coming off the bench to score 16 points and grab 12 rebounds for the Hokies. 11 of Clarke’s rebounds were on the defensive side of the ball. Clarke also finished the game with four assists and one block.
Three other Hokies finished Saturday’s game scoring double digits. Justin Robinson finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Robinson was 2-for-9 from the field while going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. He also finished 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished the game scoring 13 points with five rebounds and one assist for the Hokies. Alexander-Walker was 4-for-11 from the field and 1-for-6 on 3-pointers. He finished 4-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Justin Bibbs scored 11 points for the Hokies, going 3-for-8 from the field and 1-for-5 on 3-pointers. Bibbs was also a perfect 4-for-4 on free throws.
Four of the Hokies who scored in double digits on Saturday started the game. Ahmed Hill started for Virginia Tech and finished the game with five points, three rebounds, and two assists. Hill was 2-for-5 from the field and 1-for-3 from beyond the arc.
The Hokies shot 43.9 percent from the field on Saturday, beating Ole Miss’s mark of 39.7 percent. The Hokies finished the game shooting 31.8 percent on 3-pointers and 70.3 percent from the free throw line.
Virginia Tech is still second in the nation in scoring offense with 96.8 points per game. The Hokies have beaten opponents by an average of 21.9 points this season.
Looking forward, the Hokies will return to Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday Dec. 6 to face Radford. Virginia Tech is 7-2 all time against the Highlanders, who are averaging 70.3 points per game this season. Wednesday’s game will tip off at 6 p.m.
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