THE Bryant men’s basketball team trailed by just six points late in the game in Blacksburg, Va., but a 15-point performance off the bench from freshman center Christian Gurdak and two key points led Virginia Tech to a 78-61 non-conference victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
The outcome of the game was perhaps as much of a hit with the crowd as the introduction of new Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin at halftime. Gurdak played only 22 minutes and scored 12 points for Virginia Tech (5-0). However, with Amani Hansberry injured and Antonio Dorn forced out in the second half after being booked for two flagrant fouls, Gurdak played 26 minutes, shot 7 of 9 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. All but two of his points came in the second half.
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Virginia Tech’s Tobi Lawal had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Ben Hammond produced 11 points and six assists, and Neoklis Avdalas added 11 points and five assists. Tyler Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds, shooting 4 of 5 from the field.
Quincy Allen led Bryant with 13 points in Wednesday’s loss at Virginia Tech.
Bryant (1-4) was led by Quincy Allen, who scored 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and also pulled down six rebounds. Keegan Harvey scored 12 points, including 10 in the second half. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer this season, Timofei Rudovskii, had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and added four assists, and Jakai Robinson had 10.
The Bulldogs (1-4) held Virginia Tech to nearly 20 points below its season average and trailed by just six points late in the second half. Bryant led for more than 14 minutes in the first half before a late point tied the score. Hokies forward for good.
Virginia Tech forward Tobi Lawal (1), shown in action last season, scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win over Bryant on Wednesday night.
The Hokies shot 51.7 percent from the floor, but just 25 percent (4-for-16) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs made 42.3 percent of their field goal attempts and 18.5 percent (5 of 27) from beyond the arc.
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Bryant, down 10 points early in the second half, rallied to get within 38-35 on a 3-pointer from Keegan Harvey with 17:11 to play.
The Hokies responded with a 10-3 run to regain control. Gurdak scored eight points in that spurt, including a tip-in and a dunk. Virginia Tech’s lead never dipped below five points for the rest of the game.
Throughout the first half, Bryant threatened to play the role of spoiler. The Bulldogs took a 20-17 lead on a jump shot from Ashley Sims II with 5:14 left until intermission. However, Virginia Tech responded with a 13-0 score and never trailed again. This sequence included dunks from Lawal, Jaden Schutt and Johnson.
Bryant finishes his three-game road trip Sunday by traveling to Hartford, Connecticut, to face No. 3 UConn at 6 p.m.
This article was originally published in the Providence Journal: Virginia Tech defeats Bryant men’s basketball 78-61 on November 19
