BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sean Pedulla scored 28 points, MJ Collins added 15 points and eight rebounds and Virginia Tech held off Notre Dame 82-76 on Saturday, the final day of the regular season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Virginia Tech led by five points at halftime and never gave up the lead in the second half although Notre Dame was within two points several times.
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Markus Burton’s layup had Notre Dame within 74-72 with 1:23 remaining but Pedulla scored in the paint on back-to-back possessions to give the Hokies a six-point lead with 37 seconds left.
Burton made another layup, then made 1 of 2 from the line to get within 78-75 with 22 seconds remaining. Notre Dame then had to foul and Collins and Tyler Nickel each went 2 for 2 at the line to wrap it up.
Burton scored Notre Dame’s last eight points and finished with 24 points. Tae Davis had 13 points, Julian Roper II 11 and Braeden Shrewsberry 10 for the Fighting Irish (12-19, 7-13).
Nickel had 15 points for Virginia Tech (18-13, 10-10).
Virginia Tech raced out to a 22-12 lead in the first nine minutes of the game. Nickel led the way with a three-point play and one of the Hokies’ four 3-pointers in the early stretch. But Notre Dame hit 4 of 5 shots in a 10-0 run that tied the score with under nine minutes left in the half.
There were six more ties and four lead changes in the next eight minutes before a three-point play by Pedulla and a buzzer-beating dunk by Collins gave the Hokies a 43-38 halftime lead.
There were 30 3-point attempts in the first half, with Virginia Tech making 6 of 18 and Notre Dame going 6 for 12. The teams combined to go 2 for 16 in the second half as Virginia Tech finished 7 for 29 and Notre Dame made 7 of 17 for the game.
The ACC Tournament begins Tuesday at Capital One Arena in Washington.