Blakney scores 19, Dayton holds on to beat Hokies 62-57

Dec 12, 2021, 11:32 pm

DAYTON, Ohio -- — R.J. Blakney hit all five of his 3-point attempts in scoring a career-high 19 points and Dayton held on in the second half to beat Virginia Tech 62-57 on Sunday.

Blakney, one of four Dayton (7-4) starters who are true or redshirt freshmen among 12 on the roster, was 7-of-9 shooting. Mustapha Amzil, another redshirt freshman, added 11 points.

Hunter Cattoor and Keve Aluma scored 14 points each with Justyn Mutts grabbing 10 rebounds for Virginia Tech (7-4).

Blakney scored the last five points in an 18-7 run to open the second half for Dayton's largest lead of 18. But the Flyers only had one field goal over roughly the next seven minutes as the Hokies rallied to within 52-47. Blakney hit a 3-pointer with two minutes to go for an eight-point lead and the Hokies could only get as close as five with eight seconds remaining.

The game was scoreless for the opening 4 1/2 minutes before the Hokies' Storm Murphy ended the drought. Dayton then went on a 19-7 run sparked by six points from Elijah Weaver off the bench. Blakney help the Flyers hold onto the lead with consecutive 3-pointers on his way to an 11-point first half with the Flyers leading 29-22.

Dayton has won six of its last seven games after a 77-69 loss to SMU in its previous game.

Virginia Tech plays St. Bonaventure on Friday as part of the Hall of Fame Shootout in Charlotte, N.C. Dayton heads to Ole Miss for a game Saturday.

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