Kidd's third double-double leads Virginia Tech past Vermont, 73-51

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- — Lynn Kidd scored 17 points and Virginia Tech limited Vermont to just 17 points in the first half as the Hokies cruised to a 73-51 victory on Saturday night.

The Catamounts were scoreless until Aaron Deloney's jumper at the 13:36 mark, and by the time Nick Fiorillo got their second basket with 7:08 left, the Hokies held a 26-4 lead. Fiorillo's 3-pointer with 2:25 left put Vermont into double-digit scoring and cut its deficit to 30-12. Vermont was 7 of 27 (25.9%) from the field in the first half, including 2 of 12 from behind the arc.

Vermont played nearly even with the Hokies (8-3) through the second half, scoring 34 points and finishing the game shooting 21 of 57 from the field (36.8%), including 4 of 20 from deep.

Kidd finished with his third double-double of the season, hitting 4 of 7 shots from the field and 9 of 11 from the line while pulling down 11 rebounds, his highest total since grabbing 15 against Campbell on Nov. 15. Tyler Nickel scored 13 points and Hunter Cattoor, who came into the game averaging 15 points per game, added 10.

Fiorillo led Vermont (8-4) with 13 points off the bench and was the lone scorer to reach double digits.

Virginia Tech, unbeaten at home at 6-0, plays host to American Thursday. Vermont plays at Toledo Wednesday.

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