BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) Ahmed Hill scored eight of his 19 points during a 24-6 run spanning halftime, and No. 13 Virginia Tech beat St. Francis, Pennsylvania, 75-37 on Saturday.
The Hokies (5-0) led 23-20 when a 3-pointer by Ty Outlaw sparked a 10-2 run to end the first half. Nickeil Alexander-Walker made another 3-pointer right after halftime, one of 14 for Virginia Tech, and two 3s and a basket from Hill and a three-point play by Justin Robinson pushed the lead to 47-26.
Myles Thompson led the Red Flash (1-4) with 14 points. St. Francis shot just 25.9 percent (15 for 58) and committed 22 turnovers.
The Red Flash went nearly eight minutes without a point in the second half as the Hokies scored 15 straight to open a 62-30 lead.
Outlaw added 15 points, all on 3-pointers. Alexander-Walker scored 11 for the Hokies, and Robinson finished with 10 points and seven assists.
BIG PICTURE
St. Francis: The Red Flash are the preseason favorites in the Northeast Conference with 93 percent of their scoring back from last season, and they are preparing for conference play with a tough early schedule. The Hokies were the third straight ranked team to beat the Red Flash this season, and they’ve now lost 50 games in a row against ranked opponents since they beat a ranked St. Bonaventure team 92-81 on Jan. 25, 1959.
Virginia Tech: One of the Hokies’ weaknesses in recent seasons has been on the defensive end, which forced them to often just have to outscore teams. That appears to have improved early in the season. They held teams to 66.5 points and 46.1 percent shooting in their first four games. Those numbers only got better against the Red Flash.
UP NEXT
St. Francis: The Red Flash return home to face Bloomsburg on Tuesday night.
Virginia Tech: The Hokies head back on the road to face Penn State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night.
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