Tech uses advantage on the glass to beat Navy
Kaleo Kina and A.D. Vassallo have each set career-best scoring marks in the early going this season: Kina in Navy’s win over Radford on Nov. 29, and Vassallo in Virginia Tech’s heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin last week.
Kina was the only one to show up Sunday afternoon at the BB&T Classic, where the two seniors’ respective teams met for the first time in 34 years. But Vassallo’s supporting cast proved too much for the Midshipmen, with the Hokies dominating the boards in a 79-70 victory that snapped Navy’s decade-best seven-game winning streak.
Kina put up a relentless 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists before fouling out with 1:14 to play.
Virginia Tech, meanwhile, out rebounded the Midshipmen, 45-28, with Malcolm Delaney (game-high 21 points, five assists) and Jeff Allen (17 points) covering for Vassallo, who hit just one of his first 10 shots but still finished with 17 points that included a 7-for-7 showing at the line.
Trailing by six at halftime, the Hokies (5-3) opened the second half with an 18-2 run. Allen, a District native, powered home a thunderous dunk to make the score 51-38 with under 13 minutes remaining.
But Adam Teague (18 points) responded immediately with one of his four 3-pointers at the other end, and Navy (7-2) cut the deficit to as little as four down the stretch.
Kina grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck right away, with a missed shot and a travel in the first two possessions. Undeterred, he took seven of the Midshipmen’s first eight shots, converting an end-to-end layup, a hard-fought 3-point play and a turnaround jumper in the lane for Navy’s first six points.
After Kina’s early burst, the Hokies clamped down defensively and used their size inside to go back on top. Allen converted a 3-point play and hit a 15-foot jumper to cap an 11-0 run that gave Virginia Tech a 20-10 lead with 9:40 left in the half.
Navy countered with its own 11-0 run, reclaiming the lead, 21-20, on a fall-away jumpshot by Kina. With the help of Teague’s 10 first-half points off the bench, the Midshipmen carried a 34-28 lead into halftime.
