Virginia Tech defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 82-53 in Blacksburg on Sunday. Neoklis Avdalas sparked the comeback, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the second half as the Hokies surged ahead by 20 and pulled away. He also contributed seven assists. Christian Gurdak added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Tyler Johnson had 12 points. Amani Hansberry also finished with 12 points and pulled down nine boards. Ben Hammond chipped in 10 points for the Hokies (10-2), who extended their winning streak to four and remained undefeated at home (7-0).
Dorion Staples and Christopher Flippin led UMES with seven points each, as the Hawks dropped to 4-11 and lost their fifth straight game.
The second half saw Avdalas score seven points and Gurdak add six during an 8-minute stretch that gave Tech a double-digit cushion. By the 12-minute media timeout, Tech led 55-39. A 15-1 run spanning four minutes later pushed the margin to 26 with five minutes remaining.
In the first half, the teams traded five ties and two lead changes before Tech took the lead for good on a Gurdak basket with under nine minutes to play. The Hokies closed the half strong, outscoring the Hawks 12-5 over the final five minutes, with Johnson contributing five points to build a 38-29 lead at intermission.
Team shooting reflected the result: Virginia Tech finished 54% from the floor and connected on 11 of 24 from long range, while UMES shot 37% overall.
Upcoming games: Maryland-Eastern Shore visits Wagner on Wednesday. Virginia Tech hosts Elon on Saturday."
