Virginia Tech Hokies vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Match Player Stats On Feb 23, 2019

Kerry Blackshear Jr.'s 22 points and 14 rebounds carried the No. 20 Virginia Tech Hokies to a 67-59 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over the host Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon.

The Hokies (21-6, 10-5 ACC) shot only 36.5 percent from the floor and 27.8 percent (5 of 18) on 3-pointers, and survived 16 turnovers largely because the Irish shot only 32.8 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent (6 of 26) from behind the arc.

Virginia Tech was coming off a narrow loss to No. 3 Virginia on Monday and has won three of its last four games. Notre Dame (13-14, 3-11) lost its third straight and its ninth in 11 games.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who began the day leading the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game, scored 12 points but shot only 2 of 8 from the floor, including 1 of 3 treys. He hit all seven of his free throws, including four in the final 1:18.

TJ Gibbs scored 18 points to lead the Irish despite shooting only 5-for-17, and John Mooney finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Laszewski also scored 12 points for the Irish.

Notre Dame trailed 30-23 at halftime and cut the lead to 39-34 on a 3-pointer by Laszewski with 11:40 left, but the Hokies pulled away again, leading 50-38 with about six minutes left.

A 3-pointer by Gibbs pulled the Irish to within 52-46 with 2:34 to play but they could get no closer.

Virginia Tech shot only 38.5 percent from the floor in the first half and further hurt itself with 11 turnovers, helping Notre Dame stay in the game despite shooting only 24 percent.

The Hokies led 21-12 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the half after a three-point play by Alexander-Walker.

Notre Dame, which had six turnovers in the half and 10 for the game, managed to close the gap, cutting the deficit to 25-21 on a 3-pointer by Laszewski with 3:28 left in the half.

The Irish, who also made all nine of their free-throw attempts in the half and 15 of 16 for the game, missed a handful of chances to pull closer as both teams missed shots and turned the ball over.

Finally, Isaiah Wilkins hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Blackshear to extend the lead to 28-21, and Wilkins and Notre Dame's Juwan Durham each hit two free throws to close out the half at 30-23.

--Field Level Media