Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports

Men's Basketball By JIMMY ROBERTSON

Alleyne's career game carries Virginia Tech over Chattanooga

Associated Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Virginia Tech doesn't start its final exams until Friday, but the men's basketball team found itself taking quite a test Wednesday night.

The Hokies didn't exactly ace it but, fortunately for them, they received a passing grade.

Nahiem Alleyne scored a career-high 22 points, and Virginia Tech made all the important plays in the final five minutes to rally from a small deficit late and beat Chattanooga 63-58.

Alleyne hit 7 of 13 from the floor, including three 3-pointers for the cold-shooting Hokies (7-3), who survived a scare and snapped a three-game losing streak. Landers Nolley II added 19 points for Virginia Tech.

"This isn't the NBA," Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. "We're not playing 82 games. We're playing 35, 36, 37 if you're fortunate enough to go to postseason. It's not always easy to load that gun and play your best night in and night out. We didn't play our best game. A lot of that is attributed to Chattanooga. They played a good ballgame. But I'm proud of my men. They got down four there in the second half and made enough plays to get out."

Stefan Kenic led Chattanooga (6-5) with 16 points.

The Mocs led 51-47 after a 3-pointer by David Jean-Baptiste with 5:23 remaining, but the Hokies answered by scoring on six of their next seven possessions. An Alleyne 3-pointer started a 14-2 run that enabled Virginia Tech to build a 61-53 lead and pull away on a night when it shot just 39% from the field (23 of 59).

"We weren't concerned," Alleyne said. "Coach always says to fight a little harder and execute the plays. That was it."

Chattanooga cut the deficit to 61-58 on a 3-pointer by Jonathan Scott with seven seconds left, but Alleyne hit two free throws to seal it.

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Virginia Tech: The Hokies play at home against Gardner-Webb on Sunday.