BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Jaden Schutt scored 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting and Virginia Tech fought off a valiant effort by Winthrop for a 58-52 win over the Eagles on Monday night.
The win marked Virginia Tech’s 800th win in program history.
Kelton Talford made two free throws with 7:47 remaining to pull Winthrop (2-1) into a tie at 42-all. The Hokies (3-0) responded with an 8-0 spurt over the next three minutes with a basket by Patrick Wessler, a dunk and free throw from Toibu Lawal and a 3-pointer by Jaydon Young.
With 3:33 left, Young made another 3 to push the lead to 53-44, the Hokies largest lead of the game. With 59 seconds left, K.J. Doucet made a 3 for Winthrop that punctuated its 8-2 outburst to reduce the deficit to 55-52.
Virginia Tech’s Brandon Rechsteiner made two free throws, Lawal made 1 of 2 and Winthrop (2-1) missed its last three shots.
Lawal scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Kasen Harrison scored 19 points and Doucet 17 as the pair combined to make 15 of Winthrop’s 20-made field goals.
Both teams struggled to shoot the ball from a multitude of locations on the court, including the foul line where the Hokies went 12 of 18 and Winthrop, 7 of 13
Virginia Tech is 3-0 all-time against Winthrop. The two sides last played on Dec. 3, 2013 — an 81-63 home victory for the Hokies.
The Hokies have a 14-game win streak against current members of the Big South Conference. Monday’s game was the second of two straight contests against Big South foes. The Hokies are 38-4 all-time against its current members.
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