Isaac McKneely scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half to help Virginia hold off Virginia Tech 73-70 in the 160th edition of the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

Anthony Robinson delivered 15 points and seven rebounds, both career highs, as Virginia (13-12, 6-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its third straight.

It was the first victory for the Cavaliers in Blacksburg since 2020 and avenged a loss at home to the Hokies two weeks ago. It was the first season since 2017-18 that the rivals won on each other’s home floor.

Dai Dai Ames added 11 points and five assists and Andrew Rohde contributed seven points and nine assists for Virginia, which made 46 percent of its shots including 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from 3-point range.

McKneely made six 3-pointers, including four in the second half.

Tobi Lawal provided 23 points and seven rebounds for Virginia Tech (11-14, 6-8) which trails in the 110-year old series 99-61.

Ben Hammond scored all 11 of his points in the second half to rally the Hokies, who trailed by 15 points in the first-half.

A driving layup by Hammond with 2:02 left, cut the deficit to 69-68. After two Rohde free throws, Hammond dished to Tyler Johnson for a layup which made it 71-70.

But with 1:05 left, Robinson finished an alley-oop feed from Rohde with a two-handed slam, which was the final basket of the game.

In the first half, Virginia went on a 12-1 run as Robinson scored half the points. McKneely and Ishan Sharma added triples during the spree which gave the Cavaliers a 17-8 lead.

Virginia expanded its edge to 32-17 as Elijah Saunders made a 3-pointer.

But Virginia Tech later answered with its own 12-1 run as Lawal and Brandon Rechsteiner drilled treys.

Saunders closed the half with a buzzer-beating corner 3 to give the Cavaliers a 40-33 lead.

Early in the second half, Jaydon Young sparked the Hokies with two desperation 3-pointers, both just before the shot-clock expired.

In the final 4:12, Hammond made a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play as the Hokies cut the deficit to 66-64.

–Field Level Media