ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Sophomore Nickeil Alexander-Walker once again dropped 20-plus points to lead No. 13 Virginia Tech to a 73-61 victory over Washington on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Classic inside Boardwalk Hall. The sophomore finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting for the Hokies (9-1), who boasted four players in double figures on the night. Washington (7-4) was led by Matisse Thybulle's team-high 16 points, which fell to Tech for the second consecutive year.
The Hokies started the game off hot, jumping out to a 27-12 advantage after a redshirt junior Kerry Blackshear Jr. jumper to force a Huskies timeout. The break in action would not stop Tech's momentum though, as it built upon its lead to as many as 21 points, following a 3-pointer by senior Justin Robinson at the 5:09 mark.
Attacking Washington's zone from the inside and out, Tech scored 16 points in the paint while knocking down four triples to give it a comfortable 39-21 lead at halftime. But the Huskies came out firing after intermission.
Washington started the second half by making its first six shots, including four from downtown, to cut the deficit to singles digits at 48-39 with 14:59 remaining. But graduate student Ty Outlaw scored five straight points and Alexander-Walker followed with eight straight of his own to push Tech's lead back to double digits at 61-49 with under six minutes left. The Huskies trimmed it to as close as nine down the stretch, but the Hokies would always have an answer never letting it get to a two-possession game.
