SAN JOSE, Calif. — Saint Louis trimmed a 22-point halftime deficit to 10 in the second half, but Virginia Tech held on for a 66-52 victory in an NCAA Championship East Region first-round game Friday night at SAP Center.
The 13th-seeded Billikens conclude their season with a 23-13 record. Virginia Tech, the No. 4 seed, improves to 25-8 and advances to Sunday’s second round to face 12th-seeded Liberty.
Javon Bess scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
D.J. Foreman and Tramaine Isabell Jr. joined Bess in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Hasahn French just missed a double-double with nine points and eight boards.
Jordan Goodwin pulled down nine rebounds, including a game-high four on the offensive glass, as the Billikens outrebounded the Hokies 36-29.
Trailing 40-18 at halftime, the Billikens scored on four of their first five second-half possessions to narrow the deficit to 14. French tipped in his own miss, Foreman netted two layups and Bess sank a layup to make it 40-26.
The Hokies re-established a 20-point lead with a 7-1 run, but a 14-4 SLU spurt cut the margin in half.
Bess scored six of the first eight points in the run, and when Isabell Jr. buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, the Virginia Tech lead was down to 51-41 with 10:22 remaining.
After the teams traded buckets, the Hokies tallied six of the next seven points for a 59-44 lead with 6:58 left. The Billikens drew no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Saint Louis led 2-0 when Bess hit a pullup jumper on the Billikens’ first possession. It was 4-4 after French made a tough layup.
Virginia Tech went on top for good on its next possession. The Hokies grabbed their first double-digit lead, 17-6, at the 11:28 mark, and their 40-18 halftime advantage matched their largest first-half cushion.
Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker tossed in a game-high 20 points. Kerry Blackshear was 11-of-12 from the foul line and finished with 15 points.
