Tobi Lawal delivered 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench to spark Virginia Tech to an 89-76 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Notre Dame Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.
Amani Hansberry produced 21 points, six rebounds and three steals as the Hokies (14-5, 3-3) bounced back from a tight road loss to SMU (77-76) and surpassed last year’s victory total.
Ben Hammond scored 16 points, Jailen Bedford added 14 points and Neo Avdalas contributed eight points and seven assists, guiding an efficient Virginia Tech offense.
The Hokies made 50.9% of their shots, including 7 of 20 (35%) from 3-point range. They also hit 28 of 32 free throws with Hansberry making all nine of his tries and Lawal sinking 14 of 18.
It was a season-high in points for Lawal in his fourth game back since returning from a foot injury which sidelined him for six weeks. Lawal was the Hokies’ top scorer and rebounder last year.
Freshman Brady Koehler scored a career-high 17 points and Cole Certa added 14 points, both off the bench for Notre Dame (10-8, 1-4) which lost its fourth straight.
The Fighting Irish made 44.3% of their shots, including 6 of 24 (25%) from long distance.
The Hokies took the lead for good with an early 13-2 run which Hammand opened with a 3-pointer and finished with a reverse layup.
Hansberry had two steals and two baskets in the spree as Virginia Tech took an 18-9 lead.
After the Fighting Irish pulled to within two points midway through the half, the Hokies answered with 10 straight. Hammond and Avdalas drained triples to trigger the burst which put Virginia Tech up 32-20.
The Hokies took their biggest lead of the first half, 39-25, as Hammond drove for a three-point play and Lawal followed with a slam dunk.
Notre Dame cut the deficit to nine points on two occasions early in the second half before Virginia Tech reeled off 10 straight points.
Hansberry scored half of the points in the spurt and Avdalas drilled a 3-pointer as the Hokies surged to a 60-41 advantage.
A jumper by Bedford with 12:06 to go gave Virginia Tech its biggest lead of the afternoon, 68-48.
