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Virginia Tech injected a dose of intrigue into the CCA title race on Saturday. The No.20 Hokies had a dominant second half for a 65-51 victory over No.8 Virginia. It was the first conference loss for the Cavaliers (11-3, 7-1 ACC), who would opened a two-game lead to the top of the league standings with a win after Florida State’s loss to Georgia Tech earlier today.
Instead, the Hokies were part of a game with their rival in the State and are now tied with the Seminoles for second thanks to a career-high 29 points from Keve Aluma. The 6-foot-9 forward was out last season after choosing to follow coach Mike Young from Wofford to the ACC. He solidified his place as one of the league’s stars with his dominant outing against the Cavaliers.
Aluma’s 10 of 15 shooting night and his 10 rebounds came as the Hokies (13-3, 7-2) played without second scorer Tyrece Radford, who was suspended indefinitely earlier this week. The timing of Radford’s return is unclear, but Virginia Tech is doing well without him so far after also beating Notre Dame earlier in the week. Impressive as Aluma’s offensive explosion was against a stingy UVA defense, the Hokies pulled out largely because of their defense.
Virginia was more than seven minutes behind in the bucketless second half after leading 39-29 at one point early in the half. Four UVA players hit double the numbers, led by Jay Huff with 13 points. But the Cavaliers scored just 12 points in the paint, compared to 24 for Virginia Tech, and shot just four free throws, compared to 14 for the Hokies.
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