Kihei Clark's 3-pointer in the final seconds lifted Virginia to a 56-53 victory over host Virginia Tech on Wednesday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Blacksburg, Va.
The Cavaliers (20-7, 12-5 ACC) have won five straight games and eight of their last nine, while the Hokies (15-13, 6-11) have lost three straight and eight of their last nine.
Mamadi Diakite scored 19 points, Braxton Key had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Clark had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists for Virginia.
Landers Nolley II scored 13 off the bench to lead Virginia Tech, which roared back after being held to just 11 points in the first half.
After making only five field goals in the first half, the Hokies sank six of their first seven shots in the second half to begin the comeback.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Hunter Cattoor, Jalen Cone and P.J. Horne pulled Tech within 40-37.
Another trey by Cone cut the deficit to 44-42, and two free throws by Nolley knotted the score at 44-44 with 5:15 left, the first tie since it was 2-2.
Following two Virginia free throws, Cattoor gave the Hokies their first lead of the game at 47-46 on yet another 3-pointer.
A goaltending call against Diakite gave Virginia Tech a 49-48 lead and Nolley hit two free throws to make it 51-48 at the 3:31 mark.
The Cavaliers answered with five straight points and took a 53-51 lead on Casey Morsell's 3-pointer with two minutes left.
The Hokies tied it at 53-53 on Tyrece Radford's layup with 11 seconds left, but that was plenty of time for Clark.
The Cavaliers improved to 16-0 when leading at halftime.
Diakite outscored the Hokies by himself in the first half, scoring 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting as Virginia took a 26-11 lead into the break.
Virginia finished the first half with an 11-2 run that included nine points by Diakite.
According to the ESPN2 broadcast, the 11 points were the fewest scored in a half by Virginia Tech since it joined the ACC in the 2004-05 season.
--Field Level Media
--Field Level Media
