CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hunter Cattoor scored a career-high 21 points, Storm Murphy added 18 points, and Virginia Tech beat St. Bonaventure 86-49 on Friday night in the men's Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout.
Virginia Tech scored the opening 13 points and led 42-20 at the break as St. Bonaventure was held to its lowest point total in any half this season. The Hokies opened the second half on a 9-2 run for a 29-point lead.
Virginia Tech (8-4) avoided losing back-to-back games against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents after its 62-57 loss to Dayton on Sunday. The Hokies face No. 2 Duke on Wednesday and North Carolina on Dec. 29.
The Bonnies missed seven straight shots midway through the second half as Virginia Tech pulled ahead 65-28. St. Bonaventure guard Linton Brown banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to avoid a 40-point loss.
Cattoor was 6 of 7 from the field, including 5 of 5 from distance. Keve Aluma, averaging 16 points in his last six games while shooting 56% from the field, finished with 12 points for Virginia Tech.
Dominick Welch scored 11 points for St. Bonaventure (8-3), which was coming off a 74-64 loss to No. 15 Connecticut on Saturday.
It was the first matchup between the Hokies and Bonnies since Nov. 27, 2011 when Tech earned a 73-64 win.
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