Associated Press, November 28, 2017

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) Ahmed Hill scored 18 points to lift Virginia Tech to a 79-55 victory over Iowa on Tuesday night.

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Hill hit 6 of 13 from the floor, including three 3-pointers, for the Hokies (6-1), who blew open a tied game at halftime with a big run early in the second half. P.J. Horne added 16 points for Virginia Tech, and Justin Bibbs had 14.

A combination of Virginia Tech's stingy defense and the Hawkeyes' icy shooting led to Iowa's demise on this evening. The Hokies broke things open with a 20-1 run early in the second half, with Bibbs scoring nine of Virginia Tech's points in the run.

Iowa (4-3), which lost for the third time in four games, made its first basket of the second half – a jumper by Tyler Cook with 19:11 remaining – but then missed 17 consecutive shots. During a span of more than eight minutes, the Hawkeyes scored just a point, which came on a free throw by Cook with 12:52 remaining.

After shooting 51.7 percent in the first half (15 of 29), Iowa made just seven field goals in the final 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes' 33.3 percent shooting (22 of 66) was their worst of the season.

Cook paced the Hawkeyes with 16 points.

TIP-INS

Iowa: The Hawkeyes came into the game hoping that the return of co-captain Nicholas Baer would provide a spark, but Baer, a 6-foot-7 forward who missed the first six games because of a broken bone in his lefty pinky finger, scored five points and made just 2 of 9 from the floor.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies, who came into the game leading the nation in scoring at 102 points per game, came up short of the century mark against a Big Ten foe, but got another fantastic performance from their bench. Virginia Tech's bench came into the game averaging 26.7 points per game, and the bench combined to score 31 against the Hawkeyes.

UP NEXT

Iowa: The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday for their Big Ten home opener against Penn State.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies play their first true road game of this season on Saturday when they travel to Ole Miss.