Longwood Lancers vs Virginia Tech Hokies Match Player Stats On Dec 21, 2020

Jalen Cone bombed in six 3-pointers to account for all of his scoring and No. 24 Virginia Tech celebrated a return to the national rankings with a strong second half en route to an 84-58 nonconference victory over visiting Longwood on Monday night in Blacksburg, Va.

Cone finished with 18 points, Keve Aluma went for 14, Joseph Bamisile added 11 and Tyrece Radford chipped in with nine to complement a game-high eight rebounds for Virginia Tech (7-1). The Hokies won their third straight since a loss to Penn State knocked them out of the Top 25.

Leslie Nkereuwem had a team-high 10 points for the Lancers (1-7), who lost their fourth straight.

After seeing the visitors cut a 14-point deficit to four before halftime, Virginia Tech dominated the second half, putting up 50 points after being held to 34 in the first 20 minutes.

Longwood was down just 45-40 after a layup by Juan Munoz with 11:38 remaining, but the Hokies then exploded away with a 24-7 flurry. Cone hit three of his 3-pointers and Aluma contributed 10 of his 14 points in the run, which put Virginia Tech up 69-47 with 5:56 to play.

Cone shot 6-for-15 on 3-point attempts, helping the Hokies to a 30-12 advantage over the Lancers in scoring from beyond the arc.

Virginia Tech went 6-for-14 from deep in the second half after struggling to 4-for-18 in the first period.

Jesper Granlund, Zac Watson and Heru Bligen backed Nkereuwem with eight points apiece for Longwood, which finished 4-for-17 on 3-point tries and was outshot 49.2 percent to 43.6 overall.

Seeking to beat their in-state rival for the first time ever, the Lancers took advantage of poor long-distance shooting by Virginia Tech in the first half to hang within 34-30 at the break.

Longwood trailed 26-12 just past the midpoint of the period before clawing back into the game. DeShaun Wade's 3-pointer at the 8:04 mark triggered a 7-0 Lancers run that cut the deficit in half, and consecutive hoops by Justin Hill, Granlund and Nkereuwem in the final 1:39 of the half made it a four-point game.

Cone, who connected on three of the Hokies' four 3-pointers in the half, led all scorers through 20 minutes with half of his 18 points.

--Field Level Media