Central Plains FFA Chapter

01/27 21:58 CST Hammond, Bedford help Virginia Tech hold off Georgia Tech 71-65 Hammond, Bedford help Virginia Tech hold off Georgia Tech 71-65 BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) --- Ben Hammond scored 20 points and Jailen Bedford scored 14 points and Virginia Tech nearly squandered a double-digit lead late and held on to beat Georgia Tech 71-65 on Tuesday night. Reserve Christian Gurdak scored 11 points and Tobi Lawal 10 before fouling out. Surprisingly, the Yellow Jackets outshot Virginia Tech 44% to 34%, but the Hokies (16-6, 5-4 ACC) made up for the shooting deficit and outscored Georgia Tech 24-9 from 3-point range. Jaeden Mustaf posted a double-double and scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Baye Ndongo scored 14 points, Lamar Washington added 12 points and Kam Craft had 11 for Georgia Tech (11-10, 2-6). Lawal made two foul shots to give Virginia Tech a 65-50 lead with 4:26 remaining before Georgia Tech went on an 11-0 run to get within four points after Washington drove the lane uncontested for a layup with 1:09 left. Neoklis Avdalas made 1 of 2 foul shots for a 66-61 lead before Ndongo reduced the deficit to three with a layup with 29 seconds left. Bedord made 1 of 2 for a 67-63 lead, Washington followed with a layup with 19 seconds left and the Yellow Jackets never got closer. Hammond and Bedford each made two foul shots to seal it. Hammond's 3-pointer with 13:59 remaining gave the Hokies their first double-digit lead at 50-40. He followed that 23-foot shot with a 24 footer less than a minute later to stretch the lead to 13.

Up Next Georgia Tech: Hosts 16th-ranked North Carolina on Saturday. Virginia Tech: Hosts fourth-ranked Duke on Saturday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball