Iowa City, IA – Malcolm Delaney paced four Virginia Tech players in double figures, as the Hokies went on the road and beat Iowa 70-64 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night. Tech improved to 5-1 with the win, while Iowa dropped to 2-5.
Virginia Tech now has two all-time wins in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, both coming over Iowa.
Delaney led the Hokies in scoring with 18 points, though he didn’t have his typical good shooting game. He was just 5-of-15 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line, despite his jumper not falling. Delaney led the team with five assists, and he also had a block and a steal.
Terrell Bell had perhaps his finest game in a Tech uniform. Bell finished with a career-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He found a way to get to the rim, and also finished with six rebounds and three assists. Bell had four offensive rebounds for the Hokies, and overall he was the most active player on the court for Tech.
Jeff Allen, who did not start, had 10 points and five rebounds. Victor Davila also had 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting, and he was 4-of-4 from the free throw line. J.T. Thompson replaced Allen in the starting lineup, and he scored eight points in 14 minutes.
Ben Boggs was key off the bench for Tech, as he hit two big three-pointers in the first half when the Hokies weren’t having trouble getting started in the scoring column. Boggs also had three rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes of action.
Virginia Tech was much better offensively in this game. They were 27-of-58 from the field, good for 46.6%. They were only 4-of-15 (26.7%) from three-point range, mostly due to an off night by Malcolm Delaney. The Hokies committed just five turnovers on the road in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and that kept them in position to win the game.
Tech also outrebounded Iowa 34-27, and they limited the Hawkeyes to just six offensive rebounds.
Iowa was able to stay in the game thanks to their hot outside shooting. They finished the game 12-of-27 (44.4%) from three-point range. Anthony Tucker paced the Hawkeyes with 24 points, and he was 6-of-14 from the outside.
Iowa got off to a strong start in the first half. They nailed a trio of three-pointers in the first 3:17 of the game, and found themselves leading 11-3. Ben Boggs kept Tech in the game early, hitting his first outside jumper with 16:18 on the clock when he rolled off a screen on the right wing. A left wing three-pointer by Boggs at the 14:45 mark brought the Hokies within two, 13-11.
Malcolm Delaney hit two free throws after the last Boggs three-pointer to tie the game at 13 and complete a 10-2 Virginia Tech run. Iowa responded by taking a 20-15 lead, but then the Hokies answered with another run of their own, this time a 17-2 run. Jeff Allen sparked the drive with a steal and a breakaway dunk, and Terrell Bell got an offensive rebound and converted it into points.
The Hokies used that final run before halftime to lead by as many as 10 points, 32-22, and they went into the break with a 34-28 lead.
Tech scored the first four points of the second half, with Terrell Bell tipping in a missed shot by Delaney, and then Victor Davila scoring on a fastbreak dunk. That put the Hokies back up by 10 points.
The Hawkeyes had one run left in them for the second half. They managed to stay within striking distance of the Hokies, and then a Jarryd Cole shot from inside the paint put Iowa up 54-53 with 6:27 left in the game.
Tech came right back, going on an 8-0 run to seal the game. Terrell Bell scored the final four points of the run, first on a breakaway dunk and later on a jumper. That put the Hokies up 62-53 with 4:15 remaining, and they were able to hold on for the win.
Virginia Tech returns to action on Sunday when they host Georgia in Cassell Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30pm, and the game will not be televised.
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