Jacksonville surges past Virginia Tech for road victory

Dayton transfer Zimi Nwokeji came off the bench and scored a season-high 19 points and Jacksonville overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to beat host Virginia Tech 74-64 on Wednesday night in Blacksburg, Va.Trailing 39-29 at halftime, the Dolphins (3-2) stepped up the defensive pressure and the result was a 19-5 run to start the second half. Robert McCray’s steal and dunk gave Jacksonville of the Atlantic Sun Conference a 48-44 lead with 13:22 remaining.The Dolphins completed the comeback with an impressive effort down the stretch that included McCray’s clutch basket in the paint with 34 seconds to go.Nwokeji made 7 of 13 shots, including four 3-pointers, and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. McCray scored 17 points and dished out a game-high eight assists, Donovan Rivers scored 10 of Jacksonville’s 32 bench points and Kendall Munson chipped in nine points on 4-of-4 shooting.Mylyjael Poteat had 15 points and eight rebounds for Virginia Tech (3-2), which was looking to bounce back from last Friday’s 22-point, neutral-site loss to Penn State.Tobi Lawal contributed 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Brandon Rechsteiner (11 points) made three of the Hokies’ six triples and Jaydon Young scored nine points.