The No. 4 seed Virginia Tech Hokies needed a second-half run to pull away from No. 12 seed Liberty, ending the Flames’ historic season on Sunday in the second Round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Liberty (29-7, 14-2 ASUN) found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with their fellow Commonwealth foe in a game that saw eight lead changes and was tied a half dozen times.
The loss brings to an end Liberty’s school record season which included an ASUN Conference championship during its inaugural season in the league, the program’s fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and their first-ever #MarchMadness win when they knocked off No. 5 seed Mississippi State on Friday.
A three-pointer by senior Lovell Cabbil Jr. and four free throws by redshirt junior Myo Baxter Bell capped a 9-0 run for the Flames and gave Liberty a 41-36 edge with 15:21 left to play in the second half.
However, the Hokies pieced together a 16-3 run over a five-plus minute span to build a lead it would never relinquish. During the five-minute period, Virginia Tech scored 11-straight points and forced the Flames to turn the ball over four times.
The run ended when Justin Robinson hit a layup at 10:21, giving the No. 4 seed Hokies a 52-44 lead.
The Flames had a chance to cut into the Hokies’ lead as the score remained at 54-49 from 6:41 to 4:04, but Liberty failed to take advantage of the opportunity and Nickeil Alexander-Walker ending the scoring drought to give Virginia Tech a 49-56 lead.
A three-point play by Virginia Tech pushed the Hokies lead to 59-50 when Hill hit a layup and a free throw to extend the lead to nine with 3:13 left to play.
Pacheco-Ortiz hit a three-pointer at 2:19 pulls Flames within five 59-54, the Flames’ 10th three-pointer of the game, but would get no closer the rest of the game.
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